


Mutually Beneficial

by FaithinStars



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: (eventually im hoping), F/M, Friends to Lovers, Like half of the relationship can’t feel emotions slow burn, Reader makes androids, Robot Feels, Robot Sex, Robot/Human Relationships, Story starts in season 3, follows it’s own story but will throw in canon to correctly develop Data’s character, if they fit with my themes, once I watch the movies I’m planning to add those in as well, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-02-12 14:58:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 29,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21478252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaithinStars/pseuds/FaithinStars
Summary: You have dedicated your life to the creation of sentient, artificial life. When you join the Starship Enterprise, the strange and emotionless android Data casts doubts on everything you learned at the Academy, throwing you into a completely new world.A story about learning you were wrong, growing as a person, and falling in love with an overly-handsome circuit board.Updates every other Monday!
Relationships: Data (Star Trek)/Reader, Data/Reader
Comments: 164
Kudos: 215





	1. Welcome to the Enterprise

You could hear your heart beating in your ears, the emptiness of the stars ahead of you filling you with wistfulness and a sudden thirst for adventure. You watched your reflection in the glass, your face far more stern and calm than you felt inside.

You could hear your professors voices in your head, begging you not to join Starfleet Command. Your talents would be wasted out in the middle of nowhere. You were a researcher, an inventor, not an explorer! Your place was with Starfleet Research and Development, not a military starship!

But when you gazed outside your window at night, after class was over, and the world was quiet, you found your soul yearned to be amongst them. The people who were not afraid of the unknown, who wouldn’t bat an eye at unconventionality. They were the ones breaking boundaries, not the old, frightened men of Starfleet Research.

Your eyes flicked to the clock on your wall. Any minute now, any second would pass and your real future would begin. Everything you had worked toward, waiting for you on board the Starship _Enterprise._

A bright burst of light interrupted your thoughts, your eyes filled with starlight as the massive ship came to a graceful stop, just meters away from your fingers. Your stomach tightened as you studied the curves and shapes of your new home, the home you had waited for all your life.

“Enterprise to Starbase Three, ready to beam one up.” A voice sounded off on your combadge, as steady and sure as your reflection. The shared professional callousness of officers on duty.

Your fingers shook as you reached up to your chest, lightly tapping the metal insignia as you steadily answered, “Ensign (L/N) ready to board.” 

“Locked on to your signal.” Came the final response, a brief moment of anticipation-filled silence passing between you, before your body began to melt into a stream of silver light, your very atoms transforming into energy. That was a sensation you would never grow used to.

You took your first breath, your lungs rematerializing and filling with air, and you knew you were exactly where you had always wanted to be.The lights from the transporter flickered on and off, as if they were candles in an unseen wind. An officer stood in front of you, his yellow uniform almost as bright as his beaming smile.

“Welcome aboard! How was the trip up?” He asked cheerfully, the curls on his head bouncing slightly with each word. He had an Irish accent, and you knew you’d like him.

“As strange as ever.” You admitted, taking your first steps on the _Enterprise_ as you walked closer to him. “Ensign (L/N), though I suppose you already knew that.”

“Chief petty officer O’Brien.” He answered, firmly shaking your hand. “All of your things have already been transported to your room. Would you like me to show you?”

“I think I’d rather just get started in Engineering.” You chuckled, shifting back and forth. The transporter room was beautiful, but you’d feel much better in the belly of the ship, getting your work started.

“Alright then,” He laughed back. “Just keep going right and you’ll find a turbolift. I’m sure you know what to do from there.”

You gave him a two-fingered salute, slipping away with a final, “Thanks.”

The doors behind you slid open with a hiss, the artificial lights of the hall pouring down like sunlight, a rainbow of officers rushing past you, faces set and focused, occupied with the running of a military starhip.

Your feet began to move before you realized, the color of your yellow uniform now added to the flurry of movement. The halls were wide and tall, making it easy to convince yourself you were in some strange building, rather than stuck in the middle of space.

When the doors of the turbolift closed around you, an excited giggle escaped your mouth, happiness and pure excitement racing through your body as the weight of the moment began to settle. You were on the _Enterprise!_ Honest to god, standing aboard the heroic starship as equals with her officers.

It was enough to make you want to squeal!

The computer announced you were at the Engineering deck in a monotonic voice and opened its doors, prompting you to go. Your heart leapt into your throat, your hands clenching into fists as you took a shaky step forward. You felt incredibly out of place, until your eyes landed on a young boy working dutifully with the ship’s engine.

That was certainly not normal.

He seemed to sense your eyes on him, his head turning back to you and giving you the same confused stare, before his dark eyes melted into surprise, a smile spreading across his face as he jogged towards you. A small part of you wanted to run away.

“You’re the new Computer Science Engineer, aren’t you?” He asked excitedly, grabbing your hand in his and shaking your arm wildly up and down. “I’m Wesley Crusher. I’ve read about almost all of your work. I think you’re just amazing!”

You laughed, grinning at his contagious enthusiasm. “What interest does my work have to a young man like you?”

“Only everything! They say that you came so close to creating a sentient android before it was almost impossible to say whether it really was or not. I mean your work with computers alone-”

“Wes, are you harassing our new CSE?” A playful voice asked from behind the two of you, the young Wesley smirking at the question.

“You’re just upset because I got to harass her first.” He teased, stepping back for his commanding officer. “I'm sure you have just as many questions as me.”

The dark man laughed, his smile filled with such genuine joy you couldn’t help the smirk which pulled on your lips. You felt a slight itch in your fingers to dissect his VISOR, but you knew that’d be completely inappropriate. “Now I can’t deny the truth in that, but I’m sure our new Ensign would like to see her workplace first, right?”

You nodded energetically, your eyes wide with disbelief. Your workplace. Your own. Yours to do with what you wanted. You were definitely going to spend more time here than your room.

“I’m Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge. But you can just call me Geordi.” Your commanding officer explained casually, even waving your handshake away. “I’m sure you’ve done that enough times today.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at his frankness, already feeling much more at ease. He seemed like he was a good person, comfortable with himself and others. It put you at ease to know you wouldn’t have to put on a show around him.

“Here we are. Let me know if you need anything, alright?” He asked kindly, before leaving you to your things. Your beautiful, wonderful things.

Your hands traced your phaser, it’s cool metal a calming sensation to your skin, your tricorder’s lights flashing off and on, everything in pristine condition.

Give you a week and you’d have them running even better.

“Good morning, Geordi. Have you installed the coils we received from Starbase Three yet?” A new voice asked, a voice which stood out to you. This voice had a unique gentleness, an inherit politeness which calmed the soul, devoid of any expression. You began to turn your head, exhilaration beating deeper into your soul with each heartbeat that passed. It couldn’t be... 

“Not yet, Data. You can help if you’d like, though.” Geordi answered, patting the stranger warmly on the back. If you didn’t know any better you’d say they were friends.

But you did know better, and you knew that it was impossible. An android cannot have friends. 

For a moment you could do nothing but watch him, as if he were some kind of god, or wild animal. You could feel the adrenaline pumping through your veins, everything in you screaming to go and talk to him.

Dr. Soong’s sentient android was there, right in front of you. Not a dream, not a simulation, he was talking with your commanding officer as if he was not mankind’s greatest marvel.

You were interrupting them before you’d even realized you’d moved. “A-Are you really Data? Dr. Soong’s android?”

Geordi’s face furrowed as you spoke, as if you had said something wrong.

“Yes, I am.” He nodded courteously, his head quirking to the left as his artificial eyes scanned your face, gold flicking back and forth between your features. “I do not believe I recognize you.”

You let out an excited breath, grinning as your shoulders began to shake with overly-exuberant zeal. “No, I don’t think you would. I’m the new CSE.” 

His eyebrows twitched in imitated surprise as you told him your name. “Have you published writings about me before?”

“Yes. Well, my professors did, but it was my writing.” You nodded your head dopily, as if praising a small child. The rest of the world disappeared as you conversed with the android. He knew exactly which facial cues to use, his words intelligent and well chosen. You could spend hours simply talking to him and it would improve your understanding of artificial life exponentially. “I actually wrote my thesis paper on you.”

This took Geordi by surprise. “Really? What’d you write?”

You knew he wouldn’t like it, based off his previous interaction with the android, but it was a truth you knew needed to be in the open. “I argued that Data is not actually sentient. I think Dr. Soong was a genius at imitation, certainly a master at creating mock humans, but a living, feeling android? It’s impossible, even for Data.”

Geordi shifted away from you, crossing his arms as a deep frown set into his face. “Are you gonna have a problem with him? Because I can tell you right now we do not tolerate-”

Your eyebrows shot into your hairline, “Oh, no sir, I think you’ve misunderstood me! Data is absolutely amazing, I’m positive he’s a great officer! I just can’t take people on their word about his sentience. No one I know has even come close to creating artificial life, I can’t accept that Dr. Soong was able to achieve it on some random whim in the middle of nowhere.”

Geordi still looked uncomfortable with your answer, his foot tapping up and down as you spoke. You’d tricked yourself before into thinking your androids could be your friends, but you’d learned the hard way they simply cannot reciprocate those feelings, they don’t even want to. It was unhealthy to try and convince yourself otherwise.

“If you will not take others for their word, will you observe me yourself?” The android asked, his body and voice still and calm, even as you affronted his existence. Already he was showing signs of inhumanness. 

“Yes, of course, I want to speak with you every chance I can get. You’re a marvel of computer science, being able to study you would help me with my work in unbelievable ways.” You offered him a cheesy smile, practically batting your eyelashes at him.

“I am also interested in speaking with you. I enjoy learning from people with differing viewpoints than me.” He responded with a small smile, before turning on his heel towards the ships’ warp core. “I will begin work with the coils now, Geordi.”

“Alright. Get Wes if you need anything.” He called after him, slightly more relaxed now. You couldn’t help the slight sting of guilt his frown had caused you. But how could they actually believe that android was sentient? Even just talking to him, his inability to use contractions, his emotionless face and tone, proved he was nothing but a high-functioning computer.

“He used the word enjoy.” You commented with some amusement. “I wonder if he really thinks he means it.”

“Data’s a lot more than just some supercomputer, you know. He’s a person, just like us.” Geordi almost growled, his eyebrows set deep into his face. You wanted to bite your tongue and simply drop it, but as the only CSE on board you knew you needed to make your opinions clear.

“You only think that because we don’t understand him. If I was able to really dissect that positronic brain of his I’d be able to show you exactly where and what separates _him_ from _us._” 

Geordi snorted out of his nose before you could even finish speaking. “Just you wait and see. You’ll be regretting your words in a week. Everyone who’s ever met Data knows he’s more than an android. You won’t be any different.”

You nodded, finally deciding to let the topic fade. Geordi really seemed to be taking it personally. “Well, I hope I get that feeling too.”

Geordi bobbed his head up and down unassuredly, his feet pulling him back and forth like a confused magnet as he struggled to find what to say. Eventually he gave up, practically storming after Data and the strange boy named Wes.

You glowered at your desk, your mood entirely soured. You would not be tricked by the android’s mimicking, you decided you were smarter than that. You had spent almost your whole life around androids.

This one would absolutely be no different.


	2. An Accidental (Unwanted) Discovery

Geordi didn’t like you. This had become a well known fact in the past week, and you were quick to discover if Geordi didn't like you, then no one liked you. Well, everyone except Wes, he had been very kind to you. You knew he was just doing it to learn from you, but you still enjoyed his company. 

You sighed, lazily typing more code into the ship’s computer mainframe. You had been staring at numbers and symbols for hours, trying to improve the computer’s reaction times, your eyes beginning to feel like they might simply roll out of your head if you had to type anything else. You couldn’t understand why the program wouldn’t just work!

“The numbers here are wrong. They should be switched to the opposing sides.” A calm voice commented, a bleach white finger suddenly invading your space to point at the apparent problems on your screen. 

You gave a slight jump, stifling a yelp as you realized who it was. “Data! You scared me.”

“I apologize, I did not mean to surprise. I have come to speak with you, as you requested.” He explained mechanically, his voice devoid of inflection. You scoffed, shaking your head at the way he spoke. Sentient indeed.

Impetuously glancing back at your screen, expecting nothing, you saw he had been exactly correct. Shock flashed across your face as you realized he had seen in a second what you’d been staring at for hours. “How did recognize that so fast? That was _incredibly_ well done Data!” 

“I have spent the same amount of time in the Academy as you Ensign, as well as years of experience aboard the _Enterprise.”_ His amber eyes were blank, yet somehow burned into yours as he spoke, his unfeeling tone concealing the bitter sting of his words.

You felt foolish, forgetting until just then you were speaking with a commanding officer. If he were anyone else you would have automatically given them your respect, you wouldn’t have been so surprised by their abilities, yet simply because he was an android you had patronized him, and treated him like a fool. You were exactly like the scientists from Research who would laugh at your work, and treat your creations like playthings. 

“Yes, of course sir.” You muttered, bending your head in respect. Calling him sir left a bad taste in your mouth. You shook the feeling off, offering him a mischievous smile. “Maybe you’d be better suited for this project, huh?”

Without missing a beat he stepped into your workplace, his hands moving wildly about the screen as began to describe the most efficient ways to implement your new program. You raised your hands in the air as if surrendering.

“It was a joke, Data! I wasn’t being serious.” You gave him a disbelieving smile, laughter bubbling up in your throat at his sudden ridiculousness. He was so dense.

“I see. I have never understood humor.” He cocked his head, faintly reminding you of a lizard in his confusion. “It is a shorting of mine I have often struggled to overcome.”

“What’s there to overcome? A sense of humor won’t make you a better officer.” You scoffed, turning towards him as you spoke, a slight indent growing between your brows.

“No, but it will make me a better human.” He smiled softly, his words so simple and quiet it was as if he was unaware of the depth behind their meaning.

You felt shock travel through your bones, your body suddenly going numb as your hands released their hold on your clipboard, time seeming to move in slow motion as the clatter against the hard floors didn’t even reach your ears.

“I-I’m sorry.” You mumbled in realization, face empty of feeling as a hollowness began to corrode your soul. You quickly bent down, meaning to grab your notes, before almost bumping heads with the android as he did the same.

You pulled yourself back up, again in unison with Data, giving a nervous laugh at the awkwardness growing thicker with each moment. 

It felt strange as you struggled to not bump into each other, flashing polite smiles and apologizing, but all the same so very, very human. Your stomach gave a violent twist at the thought.

Eventually he squatted to the floor, his eyes never leaving yours as he suavely picked the papers up, his long legs bending in the most spectacular way as he rose, his golden eyes towering over you as he stepped even closer. 

“Here.” He murmured, carefully offering the clipboard back to you, his voice as gentle and calm as ever.

Your heart began to beat rapidly within your chest, your legs quickly backing away from him and slamming into the desk behind you. You gave your head a slight shake, struggling to retain your calm exterior. “I-I’m sorry. I just- Wh-Why would you want to be human?”

His brows gave a slight quirk at your question, his hands placing your notes back onto your desk as he finally leaned away, his eyes closely scanning your face as he contemplated the question. “I want to become more than an android. An android cannot evolve outside of its set boundaries, cannot learn to enjoy life for the simple reason of its being alive.”

He nodded as he spoke, as if growing more and more confident with each word. “I wish to be more than that, and experience life as you do.”

You shook your head, as if what he was saying was simply impossible and should never have been thought in the first place. You straightened, commanding information from him as if he was nothing but a simple computer, “What is the directive of this...upgrade?”

You floundered to find the correct word. You refused to call it a dream, an aspiration. That would be far too human for him.

“I would not call it an upgrade. In my current form I am far superior to standard human biology. Becoming human would only serve to satisfy a personal desire.” Data answered without hesitation, his words once again so simple yet unbelievable.

“A _personal_ desire?” You laughed in disbelief, crossing your arms as you arched a brow in scrutiny. This had to have been a bad joke.

“Yes, a strong feeling or want to have something. Wishing for something to happen-” He suddenly began to recite, his mechanical brain caught on the definition of desire, unable to understand the question had been rhetorical.

You laughed bitterly, cutting him off mid-sentence. His mouth hung open for a moment, the words caught on the tip of his tongue, before snapping shut as you leaned into his space, an almost spiteful look in your eye. “You know, you almost had me convinced you _were_ human.”

Data’s eyebrows drew sharply together, his head pulling to the side as he stared at you. You seemed to have dumbfounded him, his confusion so potent he was unable to form sentences. His amber eyes danced between yours, as if he would find the words he needed within your shifting irises.

“How can-”

“I’m quite busy Data, so if you don’t mind, I'd like to get back to work.” You said suddenly, interrupting him as you whipped your shoulders around, concealing your face from him as you resumed typing in the computer databanks. You hoped your blatant coldness would be enough for him to leave.

He stood still for a moment, as if in a stupor, before slowly turning away, his steps lagging behind him as if he struggled to leave. You knew you must have confused him, but you were far too confused yourself to try and explain anything to him.

You released a long, shaky breath, rubbing your fingers against your scalp as you attempted to calm down. Your eyes couldn’t move away from your clipboard, even though you wanted to look anywhere but. As if against your will, your hand pushed across your desk, flipping through your notes until you landed you landed on the oldest entry.

There, in your handwriting, read the words you wished you could erase.

**Signs of sentient artificial life:**  
**No 1. A want to break out of programming.**

You pushed the clipboard roughly away, flinching as it slammed into the wall, echoing loudly through the empty Engine room. You glanced around, as if someone were actually there to glare at you. Apparently they hated you so much they weren’t even around to judge you. 

You felt foolish and ashamed, but above all a sudden an inescapable loneliness. You had gone from having friends and a well-respected reputation at the Academy, to being utterly despised on the _Enterprise._

You understood the feeling of wanting to protect an android, but your naivety about the topic had been wiped away long ago by the people at Research. Sentient androids were impossible, they had told you. Nothing but a pipe dream for daydreamers. 

You had thought the same could easily be said of Data. You had dismissed Dr. Soong’s work entirely before even meeting his greatest creation.

Now, his words echoed in your mind, haunting your thoughts, imprinting your soul, and above all, giving you hope. An all-encompassing hope for android intelligence you hadn't felt since your first years in the Academy.

A fire had been lit within your heart, new ideas and wild theories which you had kept so carefully locked away now racing within your mind as you stared after his footsteps, a sudden urge to speak with him taking hold of your very breath. 

You looked back at your notes, and you knew what you had to do.


	3. An Agreement

Maybe you had known what needed to be done yesterday, but today your confidence had left you completely, leaving behind only a tight knot of anxiety and uncertainty. 

You stepped up to his door for what had to have been the fifth time, sucking in a deep, self-assured breath as you raised your fist in the air, primed and ready to knock... but instead of actually doing so you stood completely still, holding your breath as you slowly began to suffocate in the middle of the hallway. 

You released the air trapped by your lungs with a great gasp, stepping away from his door _again_ as you buried your face in your hands, quietly moaning in despair as you struggled to gain even a semblance of courage. Perhaps you should have taken a few shots of Romulan Ale before coming here first.

_Why is this so hard for me? I’m just here to ask a computer some questions._

You had been telling yourself this for the past hour, but you knew it wasn’t true. How could talking with a computer ever make you feel this _awkward._

You danced back and forth on your feet, debating whether or not you should start praying to God, before ramming your fist into the metal door, cringing at the sudden cacophony as you waited for an answer.

“Come in, Ensign.” Data’s voice called gently from within his room, relaxed, and pleasant to hear, windchime-like in it’s cantor.

White hot embarrassment flooded your face as you opened his door, his golden eyes on you as you began to take tentative steps through the door. “How’d you know it was me?”

“I have been listening to you through the door for the past four minutes and thirty seven seconds. I was unsure of what you were doing, so I decided it best to wait.” He explained simply, as if him listening to you acting like a moron wasn’t completely humiliating. 

“O-Oh, I see.” You said deflatedly, unable to look anywhere but your feet. You would have drowned yourself if there had been even two feet of water nearby. A sudden thought popped into your head, an excited gleam sparkling in your eyes as you asked, “How did you hear me through the wall?”

“My hearing is much more advanced than the average human’s. I can hear both further and better than you can.” Data explained with a polite yet empty smile, almost human-like as he sat staring at you from his chair, besides for the fact he was as rigid as a log and looking extremely uncomfortable. 

Your shame disappeared with his words, as sudden and violent as a plasma-based explosion, now replaced with an almost hyperactive excitement which sprung your feet towards his desk. “You must have parabolic microphones in your ears! As well as a recording device which must require at least a million gigabytes of storage to properly maintain!”

You bent over, practically petting his ears as you examined them, an overgrown grin plastered to your face. “Do you delete information after a certain amount of time has passed? Or do you go back manually and delete whatever you decide is unnecessary?”

His alien eyes danced back and forth between yours, his circuits clearly working overtime to keep up with your torrent of sudden questions. You could almost see the steam billowing from the back of his head. 

You gave a short, self-conscious laugh, moving away from him before he could answer. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve tried my hand at androids before, but none have ever come even close to your complexity.”

“Yes. I am the most advanced artificial intelligence humans have yet to encounter.” He gave a single nod, before pausing. His eyes became fixed to his desk, unable to match your gaze as he asked you the question he had been holding on to for some time. “Many see my position in Starfleet Command as a waste of a career. Do you share this opinion?”

“Of course not! An android of your caliber can help our Captain in more ways than he can even count. That’s what androids were made for! Your talents have earned you that position, and if anyone tells you otherwise, well… screw ‘em.” You finished somewhat lamely, shrugging at your lack for better words. “I guess.”

Data cocked his head to the side, his eyebrows pulled together in confusion. “Screw-em?”

He sounded out the syllables as if he were speaking an unknown language, a slight twinge of guilt pulling at your chest as you realized you might have been corrupting him _just_ a bit. “Yeah, you know, like their opinion doesn’t matter. Their ideas can’t affect you.”

“Where does such a saying come from?” He asked with pure curiosity.

“I… don’t actually know.” You laughed, shaking your head at him. You weren’t expecting such a strange question. 

He nodded his head, as if he were deep in thought over such a simple phrase. You stifled a smile at his silliness, taking slow, languid steps towards his bookshelf. 

You drew your fingers across the leathery spines, intrigued by what an android would find worthy of his collection. “Do you mind if I take a look?”

He gave a slight shake of his head, his eyes sealed to your form. It appeared you had intrigued him as well.

Most of the titles you recognized were the leading theories and ideas in android science, but there was a certain series in particular which caught your eye, much more worn than the books which shared its shelf. You carefully picked up the first book of the set, a disbelieving grin plastered to your face.

“Sherlock Holmes?” You laughed in amusement.

“Oh yes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories and characters were groundbreaking for their time. Sherlock Holmes has become one of the most recognizable characters in fiction, and films are still being made about him today.” He explained as if you had never heard of the books before. 

“But why do you keep these in your quarters, Data?” You asked quietly, as if you did not want to hear the answer. A nagging sense of unease grew within your gut. 

He stared at you blankly, “Because I like them.”

You released a shuddering breath, your hold tightening around the book in response. Your eyes flashed to his, as if staring at him would suddenly give you an answer.

“How can you possibly have _preferences?_ It’s impossible.” You turned away from him, unable to look him in the eye any longer. It was all becoming too real, his voice, his face, his _personality..._

“Many have theorized so. They claim having likes and dislikes is a purely humanistic trait, and that artificial beings will never be able to find enjoyment, past what humans program them to enjoy.” His voice spoke with complete calmness, his steps thudding across his floor as he drew closer to you. You felt a shiver travel through your flesh as his eyes seared into your face, as if he were a man and not a machine. This close, you could almost convince yourself he was.

“And you think differently?” You challenged him, holding the book between you as if it might protect you from his intelligent gaze.

He cocked his head, stepping even closer to you as his hand gently grazed across the back of yours, fingers wrapping around the spine of his book. “I know that, at least where I am concerned, I have preferences about nearly everything.”

Your heart beat rapidly within your chest as he moved away, replacing his precious book to its rightful place. You watched him bend over, human hands moving carefully and deliberately in their work. When he looked at you again he waited for your reply, polite and kind as always.

“You make it easy to forget you’re not human sometimes.” You sighed, rubbing your forehead tiredly. He made your head spin, that was for sure.

His eyebrows gave a slight jump at your words, as if he were surprised. “You have stated something to this extent before, but did not allow me time to respond. I am undoubtedly inhuman, yet when we converse you have repeatedly stated the opposite. How can I exist as both human and computer to you?”

Bitter memories you would rather have drowned than ever share began to resurface. His face was so trusting, so open despite how you had treated him, you found you instead yearned to tell him everything.

“All my life, computers have been the only thing I ever really understood. They’re helpful, non-judgmental, unprejudiced, _kind_ even.” A wistful smile pulled at your lips unwillingly as you remembered all the little robots you had befriended and created as a child. Simple, silly little things that could barely even hold a conversation, but even still you had loved them so. 

Data watched you in silence, fearful of making the wrong move and silencing your words which had suddenly filled him with such a sense of rightness. The words he had longed to hear from a human’s lips now flowed so easily from yours, as if they meant nothing. You couldn’t have known the depth of their meaning.

“But they are also cold.” Your face hardened, devoid of the affection which had danced across your features only moments ago. “They can’t understand humans, even if they want to. I’ve come _this_ close before to making an android a feeling, thinking, being, but not once did they express the desire to become something closer to human. In fact most of them preferred to stay the way they were, unless I programmed them to think differently.”

“So you decided it was impossible for an android to become sentient.” He stated calmly, his eyes flashing away, concealing his disappointment. 

“Because of my own failings? No, that’d be far too arrogant.” You laughed somewhat bitterly. “It’s simply that after all this time, to meet an android who no one has claim to, who no one can explain, and no one can replicate, for him to be the closest to humans we can get… I almost don’t want to believe it if I’m being honest.”

Data turned his face back towards yours, eyes wide and vulnerable. He could still see the young and happy person from your past within you. He would like to meet that person. The woman who was open-minded and excited to see what she could do with robotics.

He didn’t know how badly you wished the same.

“So… So when you express, the single idea I spent _every second_ at the Academy trying to awaken within my androids, I can’t help but feel j-jealous.” You barely managed to spit out, biting down hard on your bottom lip to stop the tears from falling down your face. You felt ashamed and exposed, your feelings suddenly so childish and vulnerable now that they were out in the open. Your chest felt like something deep inside had been ripped from it, leaving behind only a gaping, bleeding hole.

He must have thought you were pathetic, nothing but a girl pretending to have grown up and abandoned her daydreams.

Instead his slight intensity melted away, his tone returning to the simple and polite form it had always taken with you before, a small smile widening on his face as he either ignored or failed to notice your emotional distress. “I think I understand you better now. From what I understand of the human ego, I realize it must have been hard to admit your faultings so openly.”

He moved to your side, bending his head closer to yours until your wet eyes finally flashed to his, vulnerable and honest in a way a human had never been for him before. “Thank you for explaining yourself to me.”

You gave a short bark of laughter, shaking your head at his simple yet comforting words as you quickly wiped away your tears. “There you are. So human and yet so computer.”

“If it would help, I would like for you to research me in greater depth.” Data stated simply. 

Your mind blanked.

He couldn’t have been serious. 

You must have misheard him.

You were out of breath from the sheer exhilaration of the moment, staring into Data’s golden eyes for any signs of deception, of a cruel joke. He only smiled at you blankly. 

“I can’t ask that of you.” Your mouth moved on its own before your brain had caught up. 

_”Why not!”_ Your thoughts immediately screamed. _”He’s an android! He was made to be researched by people like you.”_

But… He was much more than just another android to you now. He was your dream, your life-long ambition, which had already been achieved by someone much greater than you. You had just been too proud to admit it. 

Data was not your plaything, he was not yours to simply experiment and test your theories on. He was his own person, and you were nowhere near the scientist who deserved to understand him.

“I-I’m sorry but I must decline.” You turned away from him, a sour taste melting on your tongue as you uttered the last words you ever thought you would say.

“This is not a favor I am doing for you.” He interrupted, quickly moving back around you, catching your eyes with his own. “Better understanding myself and where I come from will be helpful to not only me, but to Starfleet as well.”

He was _pleading_ with you. He was offering you the single greatest chance to understanding androids in human history, and acting like you were doing _him_ the favor!

You couldn’t believe this android.

“So you’re saying it would be mutually beneficial?” You asked, your previous worries still churning within your gut. “I wouldn’t be... taking advantage of you?”

“In some ways you will. We will be taking advantage of each other.” He declared with dangerous simplicity.

You looked at him, with his pale skin and bright eyes, and your heart fluttered.

“Alright then, it’s a deal Mr. Data.” You grinned at him, taking his hand in yours as laughter bubbled joyfully from your throat, your endless imagination taking flight for the first time in years.

“It is a deal.” He replied, saying your name for the first time, and knowing it would be one of great importance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments keep fics alive!


	4. Simple Conversation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the wonderful comments! You guys really got me to finally finish this chapter. With everything that's been going on in the world I hope my story can help give you something to look forward to, so I really want to try writing weekly updates. I don't know if I'll ever be able to do it, but I'm going to give it my best shot.
> 
> Thank you for enjoying this story! Now Reader, engage.

You gave the long blue wire a prick, jumping back in surprise as the hand began to spasm, flopping about your desk wildly, before falling flatly onto its palm. You flashed Data an apologetic look, but he seemed far too fascinated by the reaction to be any offended.

“Is that Data’s _arm?!_” Geordi shouted from across the Engineering room, interrupting your attentive note-taking.

You gave a slight jump, shirking from your superior officer’s scowl guiltily. Data quickly turned toward his friend, the sleeve of his shirt dangling in the air almost comically.

“We are conducting further research into how my nerves connect and respond to specific stimuli.” He explained as genteelly as always, giving his head a slight dip of welcome.

“Why?” Geordi asked with a slight hint of challenge in his voice, his VISOR moving back and forth between your notes and Data’s arm suspiciously.

“I’ve learned more about robotics in these past five minutes than I ever did in my four years at the Academy.” You jumped in with a nervous smile, hoping Geordi would understand. You quickly twisted back to Data’s arm, decoupler ready in hand, eager to show him you and Data’s work so far. Each complicated pathway, each rare material, showed you some little part of the android which had not been considered before.

At least, not in any published journal you’d read.

“Don’t let your professors hear you talking like that.” Geordi gave a cautious smile, crossing his arms tightly across his chest. It wasn’t like you to be so modest, he thought, especially around Data. Sure Geordi had only known you for a little over a week, but this was definitely abnormal behavior in his book. Within five minutes of meeting Data you had behaved like you knew everything there was to know about the android, and that everyone else had just been too stupid to see what you saw.

He couldn't think of a time he’d met a more arrogant rookie.

“Well it’s true, maybe they _should_ know it.” You stated with some finality, never removing your eyes from your work, blissfully unaware of your sudden change in character. The autonomic neurological nodes were complicated, that was for certain, but with careful study, and Data’s guidance, you should eventually be able to replicate the system yourself.

Geordi felt as if his head might spin off trying to keep up with this conversation.

You gave an excited giggle, gently replacing the neodymium wire back into its slot. You weren’t positive of all the materials present in the arm yet, so you had to be careful. Data had promised there wasn’t anything to worry about though.

“Data, whoever and whatever Dr. Soong was, he was a genius.” You admitted breathlessly, overflowing with a scholarly thirst for knowledge. So many ideas and theories you had never even considered now lay proven at your feet almost effortlessly. “Your wiring alone… you’re a piece of art.”

“Thank you.” Data murmured softly next to your ear, whispering your name so faintly Geordi had to strain to hear him. His eyebrows shot across his face faster than a rocket, pure disbelief rampaging across his features at Data’s quiet utterance.

You two were on a first name basis?!

A wide grin whipped across Geordi’s face, loud and sudden laughter booming from his chest as the situation dawned on him. You and Data were acting like the best of buds, and now it seemed Geordi couldn’t imagine anything more hilarious.

“Have I missed something humorous?” Data asked in confusion, his eyes flickering between you and his friend in hopes for an explanation.

“No, no. I’m just glad the two of you are getting along.” Geordi shook his head playfully, stifling his simpering smile. His android and his CSE were whispering excitedly to each other over an arm… what a couple of children.

“How could anyone not get along with Data?” You smiled toothily, a slight tease painting your voice as you looked up at him.

“The fact that I am an android keeps many at bay.” Data explained conversationally, as if the prejudices against his race was a simple topic.

“And what do we say to people like that?” You wagged your finger at him mischievously, eyes unmoving from the three-way steel hinge joint which made up his elbow. That would take quite a complicated sketch…

“Screw ‘em.” Data answered instantly, his voice taking on the inflection of your own. 

You smothered your pleased grin, turning slightly away to hide your face. You didn’t want to show just how adorable he could be at times.

“That’s it.” You chuckled as you held up your hand playfully, shaking yourself from your timid embarrassment as you finally paused from working. You would need Data’s help to draw the really detailed parts.

Data cocked his head like a lost puppy, eyes roving your palm as if he were missing some secret inscriptions in need of translation. Cautiously, he raised his still attached arm in the air, curious of what you might do.

He flinched back as your palm met his in a loud slap, his eyes widening in shock as his jaw dropped, betrayal flashing across his face.

You grinned impossibly wide at his reaction, scrunching your nose in pure delight as you rubbed his hand between yours apologetically.

“I’m sorry Data,” You giggled, “I didn’t mean to surprise you. That was a high five.”

Data stared at his hand as if he had never seen it before, nodding with great fascination. “I see. I should study this gesture in greater depth. It is interesting to know there are still human communication methods I have yet to learn.”

“You sure are teaching our Data a lot, huh Ensign?” Geordi chuckled, his demeanor relaxed. It wasn’t a stretch to say you had become a different person from the arrogant officer who had first strutted about his Engine room just over a week ago. That officer could never have apologized to Data as easily as you just had.

“Well I think he’s teaching me even more.” You admitted almost shyly, glancing up at Data with a slight level of awkwardness, before quickly twisting back to your sketchbook, willing the heat in your cheeks to dissipate. 

Data gave a small smile, his gaze glued to the vision only he could see in your eyes, a look which went unnoticed by you as he leaned over your shoulder, silently asking for your pencil with an open palm. “I can help you with the details.”

You felt yourself warming towards the android with each moment that passed. So polite and understanding, helpful and interesting... he was simply good company to have around. You couldn’t think of a time when conversation had been this easy with anyone. 

“Thanks, Data.” You smiled back, handing him the pencil.

Geordi released a quiet sigh, a fond wistfulness filling his chest as he slipped away, unnoticed by the two of you. He had never seen Data so taken with someone before. It made Geordi want to bellow with cheerful laughter.

The lieutenant commander, lost in his affectionate musings, narrowly avoided walking straight into the young Wesley Crusher, stopping just short of barreling the boy to the ground. The Ensign flinched as if he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, before dropping his gaze to the ground somewhat guiltily.

“_Wesley_.” Geordi pronounced, unknowingly performing the perfect imitation of a stern older brother.

“Pardon me, sir. I shouldn’t have been standing in the walkway.” The young Crusher apologized, adding a small bow, as any respectable Starfleet Officer would. “It’s just that- I’ve never seen Data let someone study him like that. Much less take him apart!”

Geordi paused a moment, glancing back at the both of your huddled forms, excited whispers carrying over softly from across the room, and he grinned. “Neither have I.”

“Even you?!” Wes exclaimed in complete surprise, his wide eyes grown even wider as he glanced between the android and the cyborg. “I thought you and Data were best friends!”

“Wes, even if I wanted to learn what makes Data tick I wouldn’t even begin to have the computer savvy to make any sense of it.” Geordi admitted with a laugh, shrugging his shoulders with a carefree sort of air. “You’ve read Ensign (L/N)’s work. It’s not a stretch to call her a genius.”

“So does that mean she’s the first one to study Data?” Wesley asked excitedly, his metaphorical tail wagging.

“Well, I didn’t say that. But this _is_ the first time he’s volunteered to be experimented on.” Geordi commented, a slight weight to his words. 

“I wonder what that means.” Wesley muttered beneath his breath softly, hand on his chin as if he were attempting to solve a particularly annoying equation.

“I guess he trusts her.” Geordi said simply. 

Both officers glanced at one another from the corners of their eyes, sly grins mirrored on their faces. 

Those two had no idea what wonderful thing was happening to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're all brothers and it really shows. ;)


	5. Human Interaction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it! Hope you guys enjoy our favorite android. ;)

Time ticked by as slowly as the infinum, never ending and stagnant in the air. You dropped your head on your desk, staring up at your android companion in incredible boredom. He did not seem to notice your anguish, or had elected to simply ignore it.

His pale, ghostly hands moved deftly across the parchment, a black line of ink tracking his every careful movement. With an ease no human possessed he recreated images perfectly, as if you had been staring at a picture.

You had both decided it would be much safer for all involved if your work was recorded in the more archaic form of pencil on paper. There was no risk of losing it to hacking, or being spied upon by the people at Starfleet Research. There was a lot people would do to get their hands on this information.

You were willing to take any precaution necessary if it meant protecting Data’s safety.

“Uggghh, I can't do this anymore!” You suddenly groaned, much to the surprise of your partner.

Data immediately dropped his pencil, quickly turning towards you as his eyes raked over your form. “Are you injured? Have we not taken enough water breaks?”

You chuckled at his concern, laying your head down onto your desk childishly. “No, I’m just bored.” 

Data blinked at you, cogs clearly turning within his head, before he turned back to his sketch, giving you the cold shoulder. Was he upset at you?

Your head jumped up at the thought, a sly grin spreading across your face. Was it possible to _annoy_ him?

“You know…” You began, leaning over his shoulder and plucking the pencil from his hand. “We’ve been focusing an awful lot on your computer side and _completely_ ignoring your human side.”

His hand remained frozen in the air, eyebrow quirking as he asked, “What can we do to study my human characteristics?”

“How about a little trip up to Ten Forward?” You asked, smiling hopefully. 

“But our work here is more important.” He replied immediately, voice empty of emotion.

“Data, we’ve been doing the same thing here everyday for almost two weeks. Can’t we switch it up a little?” You attempted to win him over, jutting out your bottom lip. You couldn’t stand to spend another second in this cramped little Engineering room.

“You surmise a change in scenery and activity will motivate you?” He asked calmly, as if you were discussing mathematical theories and not your boredom.

“Oh yes, positively.” You nodded your head vigorously, praying he would go for it.

The android’s golden irises glanced to his side, sealing to his pencil. His hands twitched to resume their work, not wanting to stop until the work was completed. 

“Please, please, please?” You repeated playfully, holding your hands together in a mock beg.

But you had kept up with him much better than any human before you. You did not complain or require explanation. You instead provided him with an interesting and helpful view, far different from his own which he could never simulate.

“I do not understand how repeating the same word will convince me to-”

“Pretty please with a cherry on top?” You interrupted, pressing your forearms into his side.

“Or how describing the appearance of the please will help your argument.” 

You deserved whatever you wanted. Anything to keep you working with him, to spend more time with him, and provide him with everything he needed.

You frowned cartoonishly large, widening your eyes as you all but whined like a puppy.

“I have enjoyed this insight into human interaction. We may leave now.” He suddenly belayed, lifting from his chair and walking away without so much as a glance in your direction.

Your mouth opened to say something, words lost on your lips by his sudden abruptness. His long legs carried him swiftly towards the turbolift, leaving you in his dust.

“Hey!” You shouted, awakening from your stupor as you ran after him. “You let me beg even though you knew you were going to say yes!”

“I have never seen a person beg before.” He explained calmly.

You gave a slight frown. Did he think of you as a bumbling fool? Were all humans just silly little creatures to him?

“This trip is supposed to help me better learn human interaction, is it not?” Data said as cool as always, head giving a slight dip. If you weren’t careful you’d almost think he was teasing you. 

You grumbled playfully beneath your breath, flushed with embarrassment at his demeanor. He called out your destination to the computer, the machine flying upward without so much as a pause. 

“You know, I’ve only been to Ten Forward once before. Just stopped by on a tour.” You admitted, staring at the ceiling as you crossed your arms. “I hope they have milkshakes.”

“But it is the most popular social gathering on board.” Data protested, his eyebrows clinching together. “What other activities have you experienced with your friends?”

“Well, I don’t exactly have a lot of time for socializing. I spend almost all of my time with you, actually.” You confessed, only realizing then how anti-social you had become. It was hard to become close to the people who had despised you only a few weeks ago. Your research with Data was the only thing you actually really did past your work.

“Hm. Perhaps we should spend more time with humans.” He murmured softly.

You laughed, shaking your head at his immediate addition of we. “Perhaps.”

The doors slid open with a hiss, the faint light of the bar pouring into the turbolift. The hum of conversation reverberated throughout the room, bodies of officers hunched over dark tables as they laughed and drank.

“Data! Come and sit with us!” A voice called from across the clearance, laughing heartily, like some kind of Nordic viking.

“Friend of yours?” You murmured in amusement, leaning your head towards Data’s shoulder. 

“Yes. That is Commander Riker and Counselor Deanna Troi.” The android explained casually, as if he weren’t introducing you to some of the _Enterprise’s_ top officers. “Lieutenant Commander Geordi is here as well.”

You straightened in surprise, suddenly on duty as you approached the table. Your heart rate spiked the closer you came, your breathing uneven with anxiety. 

“Hello, who’s this?” Riker gave his most charming smile, offering you his hand. 

“Greetings Commander Riker, sir!” You grasped his hand in yours, shaking it roughly. “And Counselor Troi! I am Ensign (L/N) of Engineering, recent graduate of Starfleet Academy.” 

Riker’s eyes widened in amusement, a twisted smile pulling on his lips as he turned towards Geordi. “Ah, I see.”

There was a moment of tenseness, you stock still in an officer's position as the seniors all shared a look, Data smiling blankly at his friends. 

“You can loosen up Ensign.” Geordi finally broke the tension with a laugh, everyone else joining in as you released a big sigh, relaxing as you grinned at yourself.

“I’m sorry. I haven’t had a lot of time to relax lately.” You admitted, rubbing the back of your neck in embarrassment as you and Data take your seats. 

“It’s fine, we all get like that sometimes.” Troi murmured comfortingly, rubbing your arm with a sweet smile.

You only managed to nod, mesmerized by how kind and beautiful she was.

“So how do you and Data know each other?” Riker asked affably, subtlety ordering drinks for the table with a swirl of his finger. He thought he was the cock of the walk. And he was probably right.

“We have been working on a comprehensive guide to each of my parts and their functions.” Data suddenly jumped into the conversation, wrapping his fingers together on top of the table. He glanced at you for approval.

“It’s coming along spectacularly so far. You wouldn’t believe it.” There was a sparkle in your eyes as you spoke, feeling comfortable for the first time since you had arrived.

“Well I can see why you haven’t been able to relax. I thought it was determined impossible by Starfleet’s best and brightest years ago.” Riker commented, an impressed look dancing across his face as he sipped at his drink.

“Starfleet’s brightest minds did not include (F/N).” Data immediately responded without so much as a moment's hesitation, chest unintentionally swelling with pride for his Ensign.

Deanna and Riker shared a surprised look as you coughed, covering your blush with a waved hand. “Come on Data, I’m not as good as all that.”

“According to your old professors you are.” Geordi smirked behind his glass.

“You talked to them?” You asked, jumping up in your chair.

“Interviews on the _Enterprise_ are _quite_ extensive.” He grinned, dipping his head to the side playfully as the group of old friends shared a laugh.

“Apparently.” You murmured beneath your breath, leaning back into your chair. It was uncomfortable to think Geordi knew virtually everything there was to know about you. 

Data’s amber eyes watched you carefully.

The drinks arrived with a clamber of motion, colorful arms reaching from all across the table to claim their second or first drink. The senior officers began to converse amongst themselves about people you had never met, poking and teasing one another, the best of friends.

Your mouth felt dry as you watched them. What could you possibly say? These people were experienced, seasoned soldiers, you were nothing but a child to them. You hid your face behind your glass, hoping no one had seen your sudden moroseness. 

“Do you not wish to socialize with the others?” Data murmured to you alone as he leaned into your side, instantly noticing your behavior, eyes boring into your face with friendly concern.

“I did.” You responded without thought, before rushing to correct yourself, face inches from the android’s. “I do! I’ve just… lost touch I think.”

“Is speaking with me not practice enough?” Data asked, his voice dipping lower in cantor as his words dripped with concealed insecurity. You couldn’t help the small, adored laugh which fell from your lips.

“Oh, Data. You’re different. You’re easy to talk to.” You whispered, wrapping your hand around his shoulder in what you hoped was a comforting gesture.

“Is that not a good thing?” The android asked, the same concern refusing to leave.

“No, no. It’s _definitely_ a good thing.” You smiled at him warmly, a gooey feeling of affection spreading through your chest as you stared into his eyes, once so blank and emotionless to you. Now they pitter pattered with feeling, the subtle tells of his thoughts intricately etched into the golden artificial irises. 

You turned back to the group, feeling much more comfortable than before. All three of them were staring at you and Data, enraptured by the picture of your arm on his shoulder.

You immediately pulled away, clearing your throat as you took a shaky gulp from your cup. You could feel a heat on your cheeks, your whole body wishing you could simply melt into your chair.

“I think it would be best if (F/N) and I returned to Engineering.” Data provided you with an escape, looking at you for confirmation.

“So soon?” Riker asked, surprised.

“I-I agree. We only came up for a quick break.” You nodded quickly, getting up from your chair as Data followed in suit. “It was wonderful to meet you both.”

Riker and Deanna agreed, both smiling their perfect smiles as you and Data hurried away, naturally walking closer together than before your trip to Ten Forward.

“Like two peas in a pod.” Riker laughed, grin brimming with mirth as he gauged his friends' reactions.

“You have no idea. Every time I see her Data’s right behind. He’s like her shadow.” Geordi teased, Riker and him sharing a laugh as excitement danced behind their eyes.

“You don’t think our Commander Data has formed a crush do you?” Riker asked with zero subtlety, driving straight to the heart of what they were all thinking.

“I didn’t think Data was capable of such emotions.” Deanna commented, chocolate eyes glancing towards Geordi.

“I don’t think that’s it.” He shook his head. “He just _really_ prefers her company.” 

They all shared a grin, leaning in across the table as an enthusiastic energy began to build between them. 

“Well I think it’s good for them. She seemed to really like him.” Riker observed, ever the optimist.

“To new friends!” Deanna cheered, holding her glass out to the others. Feelings of friendship overflowed from her table mates, drowning her in the same sunny feeling.

“To new friends!” They answered, clinking their cups together in celebration of the future.


	6. The Question On His Mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for missing last week, finals have been coming for my life. Thank you guys for reading this story anyways, and I hope you are all staying safe. :))
> 
> Now, Engage!

“Hey Data, what’s up?” Geordi asked with a welcoming smile, pleased to see his friend back in Engineering. The young officer placed his tools down, providing the android his full attention. 

“I was looking for Ensign (F/N). Have you seen her?” Data queried, his eyes moving back and forth around the room, not so much as glancing at Geordi. 

He sighed. “Yeah, she’s up in the cafeteria fixing a faulty replicator. Apparently it won’t stop making the same palmful of whip cream all over the place.”

Data did not notice the humor in his friend’s voice. He simply blinked, before stating, “I see. Perhaps she will need some assistance.”

“Hold up Data.” Geordi jumped up from his chair, “You follow her around practically all day, you guys are almost never apart... I’ve never seen you like this before.”

“The sooner she is finished with her assignments the faster we can begin our work.” Data explained simply, his voice taking on the soft tone he only took with friends.

“So you’re really invested in this… schematic of yours?” Geordi asked cautiously, taking a rare step into unknown territory with Data.

“Yes. Starfleet Command has assigned me with many scientists in the past, attempting to better understand me. (F/N) is the first who has allowed me to work beside her, on equal terms.” Data spoke with such genuine feeling Geordi couldn’t help but smile. 

“Well, congratulations then Data. You’ve made a new friend.” Geordi preened, clapping his friend roughly on the shoulder, as if congratulating him on a job well done.

“Friend, Geordi?” Data cocked his head to the side, the epitome of innocence. He had never thought of (F/N) in such a way before. He knew Geordi considered him to be his friend, a fact he would always treasure, but he could not think of anyone else who would wish to be friends with an android. Least of all someone as perfect as his partner.

When Geordi had told him they were friends he had thought it was his only chance of experiencing such a relationship. 

“Yeah. You know what friends are Data.” Geordi laughed, slightly confused.

“A person of which one is familiar with and holds a mutual affection for. A companion, different from others-”

“Oookay. So you definitely know what a friend is.” Geordi shook his head, sighing tiredly as he rubbed at his forehead. Data could be hard to talk to sometimes, especially when you were elbow deep in progress reports due in two hours.

“Yes. But I do not think in the way you mean.” Data murmured, sensing his friend’s slight frustration.

“It’ll be something for you to think about.” Geordi said, flashing him a slight smile, letting him know it was alright. 

Data mirrored the smile back.

“Now, I _do_ actually have some work to get to, so if you’ll excuse me.” Geordi complained, turning back to his desk with a playful smirk.

Data nodded, leaving the hum of the Engine room behind as he blended into the crowds of Starfleet officers, all rushing to complete their respective duties. Data became invisible in the flurry of their motion, no gazes lingering on his bleach skin or yellow eyes, no causing them discomfort with his confusing android ways, but instead simply walking alongside his peers, pretending to be one of them. 

The only other time he felt like this was when he was talking to you or Geordi. He had matched the sensations together after you had visited him in his quarters. With the two of you he did not need to put up a front, change himself to be better understood and accepted. He was free to ask questions and get the answers he needed. You would help him, not judge him. Guide him, not become an obstacle. 

What would such a sensation be referenced as in the terms of human relationships? Geordi had called it friendship, but the probability of you feeling the same put him at the disadvantage. Of all the humans Data had encountered, only Geordi had ever called him his friend. The senior officers treated him with kindness, but he did not think they would refer to him as a friend. Data was not enough like them. He could not provide the emotional context human relationships required. He had observed this from his first days in the Academy. Humans needed not only physical contact but emotional support as well, both things Data noticed he provided poorly. 

He could not see you wishing to experience such an unsatisfactory relationship.

The more he thought about you, the more his memory banks began to flood him with images and videos of you. Smiling at his confusion, helping him with his work, understanding him as an android, and not a human.

The more he thought about you, the more the same question began to repeat within his mind, as if a virus were corrupting his processors, repeating the same words over and over on a constant loop, unable to solve the problem no matter how much concentration he afforded it. No amount of probability or calculation could answer the impossible thought which now rang through every wire in his system. 

You were not a normal human. He could not compare you to the others he had met, you were different, just like him.

The doors to the cafeteria slid open, wild laughter greeting the android as he stepped inside.

You and Wesley Crusher were playing around in a mountain of whip cream, a whorping sound replaying over and over as the creamy dessert appeared in the replicator's opening each time, now spilling out onto the floor. 

“Oh, hey Data! What’s up?” Your smile split widely across your face, a light dancing in your eyes as you saw him for the first time that day, whip cream caking your face and hair, laughter bubbling in your throat. You had missed him that morning.

“Are we friends?” 

Your gasped, shock marring your features at Data’s extremely unexpected words. You turned helplessly to Wesley, suddenly unable to form a single coherent thought. He only stared at you expectantly, an unbelievably large grin plastered to his face.

“I-I don’t know Data. Do you want to be friends?” You asked, unable to keep the quiver from your voice. To call yourself friends with an android would be the final blow to your professors deeply ingrained lessons. They had told you the notion of human-android companionship was not only ignorant, but dangerous. Ideas which would leave your heart wounded, and your creations confused. They were not humans, and did not deserve or need to be treated as such.

How heatedly you had argued with them at first. You could remember the passion of your freshman year, the feeling of injustice which burned within your very soul at Starfleet’s closed-minded teachings. But the solitude, and constant failure of your androids had left you as broken as your professors had promised. But once you had changed your tune to theirs, your whole life had flipped around. Suddenly you were a published genius, your understanding of the positronic brain surpassing even the best of minds, as long as you failed to mention android sentience. Friends appeared by the hundreds, and you were showered by praise wherever you went. 

A couple of weeks with Data had shattered all of it.

He looked up, cocking his eyebrows as he imitated what he had seen humans do in thought, a small smile pulling at your lips as he did so, before his golden eyes flicked back to yours, his posture still and sure. It felt like you were the only two people who existed, tethered to one another by silent gaze. 

He remembered how you had smiled at him, your laugh filling his sensors, your warm eyes glad to see him, and he murmured a quiet, “Yes.”

“Why?” You asked quietly, shaking your head at him. He had friends like Commander Riker, Deanna Troi, Geordi La Forge! You could never compare to them.

“I can not say for certain. I know I have grown a preference for your company. Is this not enough to account for friendship?” Data asked with some concern.

“No.” You suddenly laughed, instantly understanding what he had meant. He liked you, in his own android way. “I think it’s more than enough.” 

You paused for a moment, glancing at Wesley, who gave a confident nod. There was no other android in the world who could be as genuine as Data, who could have affected you so deeply so soon.

“I feel the same way.” You finally admitted. The words felt so simple, so much purer now that they were out in the open. 

Data simulated a smile, his eyes crinkling at your words. Geordi had been correct. He had made a new friend. “So we have a _mutual affection?”_

You smothered your laugh with your hand, not wishing to confuse Data, before you made the mistake of making eye contact with Wesley. Both of you burst out into loud laughter, heavily amused by your android friend’s charms.

Said android stood awkwardly in the doorway, looking as lost as a kid in a candy store. 

You flashed him a mischievous grin, scooping some of the whip cream into your hands as his eyes moved quickly between you and your weapon of dessert. You giggled at his reaction, which he only seemed to become even more bewildered with.

“(F/N) I do not see what you are doing with-”

Before he could finish his sentence you had lobbed the whole handful at him. You weren’t sure why you did it. Whether it was because you wanted to see his reaction, or because you and Wesley had become a little too hyper, you weren’t sure. 

All you did know was Data easily sidestepped the throw, allowing a good amount of whip cream to land splat in the middle of Captain Picard’s uniform, just as the doors to the hall slid open. 

The room fell silent, but for the repeated sounds of the broken replicator. 

The man looked between his ruined clothes and all who were in the room with severance, before he spoke with a hardened edge to his tone. “Ensigns. What do the two of you think you are doing?”

“We were fixing the replicator, sir.” You spoke up, staring at your Captain’s feet. 

“And does that involve _playing_ with _food_, Ensigns?” He asked, his face almost red as he gestured to the pile of mess you had allowed to pile up.

“No, sir.” You both responded sullenly.

“Good!” He barked. “See to it this mess is cleaned up immediately, before I have you both assigned double shifts!”

You hung your head even lower at his outrage, drowning in your shame. Wesley simply stared at the ground, frowning.

“And Mr. Data, do try and keep a better handle on our younger officers.” Picard commented pointedly, giving Data a hard stare as he left the room, wiping at his uniform.

“Yes, sir.” Data quietly murmured after him.

As soon as the doors slid to a close you twisted back to the replicator, your face burning hot with embarrassment. You were an absolute moron, playing around like a child in the Academy. You were aboard a Starship now, and that _meant_ something!

All you kept thinking about for some reason was how stupid you must have looked in front of Data.

“I’m sorry (F/N), it was my fault. I started playing around.” Wesley apologized, his voice filled with regret as he attempted to meet your eyes. You refused, tapping away at the computer's screen as you overrode the simplistic security measures.

“No, I’m the adult Wesley, I should have known better.” You half-growled, practically slamming your code into the system. “Computer, cancel order for whip cream.”

The doors slid open once more as the cleaning robots entered, buzzing excitedly as they sucked up the mess, beeping and trilling back and forth.

Data approached on light footsteps. Seemed he had a good enough understanding of human emotion to see you were upset. “I apologize as well. It would have been better for us to perform your duties to completion, before allowing me to inhibit you with unnecessary questions.”

You frowned, realizing you had ruined the moment between you and him. “It’s f-fine Data. I behaved like a bad officer, so I was reprimanded like a bad officer. T-That’s all there is to it.”

You discreetly wiped at your face, annoyed by how many times you had already cried in front of Data. 

He moved to say something, his mouth set in a concerned frown, before you rushed past him, his hand hanging uselessly in the air after you.

“See you guys later.” You choked, ready to bury yourself beneath a mountain of blankets back in the safety of your own quarters. Something about his damn face made you so emotional…

Wesley Crusher sighed, raking a hand through his hair, the doors hissing close once more. “Oh man, Data. I really screwed up big this time.”

“Ensign (F/N) appeared to be most distressed by the Captain’s behavior.” He observed calmly, glancing at his hand as he slowly retracted it. 

“First impressions can be very important, Data.” The young officer muttered, rubbing his chin absentmindedly. He could already feel the heavy weight of guilt settling within his stomach.

“The Captain is wiser than to determine an officer’s worth based on a single event.” Data commented, his voice expressing confusion. This was a behavior of the Captain even he had recognized. You should not have been so upset by his reprimand.

“I know Data. She just really wanted to impress him, you know?” Wesley shrugged, unsure of how to explain it to an android.

“So (F/N) believes she has left a bad _impression_ on the Captain, causing him to fall back on this first point of reference of her from now on, placing her in a position of embarrassment she does not wish to be remembered as being in?” He asked, his tone ironically simplistic, as if he were discussing the weather.

“Y-Yeah, I guess that’s one way of looking at it.” Wesley laughed awkwardly. 

Data took a look at the door, brows drawn together, before turning to the young Ensign.

“Should we not try to comfort her in some way?” The android asked, uncertain of what he could do to help you. “I have researched a few methods of comfort in my time on the _Enterprise_.”

Data patted Wesley on the shoulder mechanically.

Wesley only gave him a big grin, knowing then that you and Data had been made for one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reader and Data: Spend all their time together, like each other a lot, get along perfectly  
Also Reader and Data: ArE wE fRiEndS?!?!!


	7. Something Sweet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaagghhh!!! Thank you all for the wonderful comments! Every time I see a notification from one of you it just makes my whole day. Thank you guys for being awesome and loving Data as much as I do. ^^
> 
> Without further ado, engage!

Your fingers tapped a rhythmic beat into the monitor, complicated patterns and numbers flashing across your screen as you replaced the simple coding with your own, editing and improving every system you could get your hands on. You had already added thirty four new recipes to the replicators, created an energy-reserving force field which could last fifteen minutes longer than Starfleet’s standard system, and improved phaser reaction time by zero point twenty four percent.

The blue light of the monitors within the computer core were tattooed behind your eyelids, haunting your vision with every blink. You had barely left the room in the last three days. If you could just find _one thing_ that might catch Picard’s attention you would feel a lot better. You weren’t ready to spend the rest of your life in a dead-end career because of one bad impression you had made.

But you also weren’t ready to transfer from the _Enterprise_ yet for... personal reasons.

You fingered the small memory stick within your pocket. The cool black object had been with you for years. You had modified, tested, and experimented with it in every way possible, but you had never gotten the chance to see how it would really work in the field.

Maybe if-

You shoved the stick back into your pocket just as the doors slid open with a loud hiss, revealing a widely grinning Data. You gawked at his strange, toothy smile, almost frightened as he quickly approached you. 

“Data?” You asked in disbelief, thoroughly confused by his behavior. “What’s with that strange smile?”

“Is it not to your liking?” He said disappointedly, dropping his mouth into its regular form. “I practiced with Wesley. He said you would enjoy it.”

You resisted the urge to laugh. Poor Data was being teased and he had no idea. 

“I have important work to do here. We can talk later though, if you want.” You explained to him as kindly possible. He simply inspected your monitor, his eyes glancing back to yours confusedly as he perched an eyebrow. 

“Creating the replicator program for Galaxy Twin Twisted Sundaes does not seem to be a pressing matter.” He commented, almost wry in his own way.

“W-Well it is to me!” You exclaimed, flusteredly giving him your shoulder, hoping he would bugger off and leave you alone.

He didn’t.

“I have something to show you.” He said your name, tone warm and soft as honey in the way which always melted your heart.

You struggled not to look at him. The moment you saw his face you knew you’d be done for. “Data, I have work.”

“Then I will assist you.” He replied easily, stepping to your side.

“No!” You yelped, jumping away from him. “No, Data. I have to do this myself. I’m the only CSE on board, and yet I haven’t done a single thing to prove my worth.”

He stared at you, his head cocked to the side and his eyes confused, silently studying your reactions as he searched for what to say. This was not going at all how Wesley said it would. 

“I’m… I’m no better than dead weight Data.” You muttered bitterly beneath your breath. 

“It is unreasonable to determine your competence based on one interaction with the Captain.” He began slowly. “You are indispensable to the crew, for the same reasons you yourself have stated. I have yet to meet an engineer who can keep up with my observations as quickly as you. If there is anyone in the known universe who will create the next sentient android, I believe them to be you.”

You looked at his face despite your own warnings. You should have listened to yourself, you realized. He looked at you with such kindness and understanding, his eyes deep and vulnerable, with not a strand of his slicked back hair out of place.

He was so android and he was so perfect.

You had been silent for far too long, but he didn’t seem to notice. He only stared at you, as if he were studying a nuclear reaction in slow motion. Your heart leapt into your throat as your hand began to hesitate, reaching back and forth between you, before finally finding the courage to envelope his hand with your own.

Your hands fit together perfectly, his palm much larger than yours. His pale fingers remained outstretched, his eyebrows almost to his hairline as he dashed to look into your eyes, hoping to find some explanation for your behavior. You only smiled at him, swinging your hands back and forth playfully. 

Slowly, as if cautious he might damage you, he wrapped his fingers around your own, his processors rushing to comprehend what was happening. He had never held hands before. Not with anyone. It was very strange how limbs could connect in such a manner. It was as if his fingers had been designed to fit with yours all this time.

“Thank you, Data.” You whispered with deep feeling behind your voice, completely unaware of the conundrum your small hand had caused him. “I think that’s the kindest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

He nodded, unsure of what to make of you. You had provided him with an intimate physical interaction which no other human had. You treated him exactly as he observed other human beings to behave around one another. The trusting, casual, touching manner in which no one else had ever treated him.

You were different. You were like him.

He took a step back, refusing to drop your precious gift as he gestured toward the door with his other hand. “Wesley assured me you would enjoy the surprise.”

You gave him a large grin, easily wrapping your arm through his, all but bounding into the hallway with Data in tow as your mind ran wild with guesses. He noticed the loss of your unique heat input pattern within his hand, his systems alerting him to a slight increase of temperature now within the crook of his elbow as you pulled him closer. Was warming one another a form of physical human communication? 

He slightly raised the temperature of his arm by five percent. He hoped that would be sufficient enough for you. 

“Computer, officers (L/N) and Data to enter HoloDeck 3.” He called out as he came to a sudden stop.

You gasped as the doors opened, revealing a whimsical wonderland you couldn’t have imagined if you tried. 

All around you swirled impossibly large bubbles, shimmering in the light with every known color, bouncing into one another, never popping. A giant waterfall of chocolate and vanilla milkshake ran loudly throughout the simulation, swirling and twisting through the hills of gumdrops and the valleys of candy corn. Bees made of honey whizzed past your eyes, buzzing a happy little sing-song tune.

“This is- This is amazing!” You squealed like a young girl, unable to stop the giggles from invading your voice. It was all so fantastical you had to take a moment to consider if you had ever truly woken up that morning. 

Data studied your laugh closely, his memory banks filing each second of your reaction away for closer inspection. He wanted to remember what your face looked like in this moment forever.

“Wesley!” You exclaimed with joy, the young boy appearing behind a stalk of candy cane. You dropped Data’s arm, slowly moving into the room as if it were sacred. “What is all this?”

“Isn’t it great!” He shouted, prancing up to you with the biggest of smiles. “Data wanted to do something for you after our… run in with the Captain. It was all his idea!”

Wesley gave a not-so-subtle wink to Data, who only appeared confused, before shakily and over-animatedly winking back. 

You and Wes shared a laugh, before you suddenly pulled the both of them into a group hug. “Thank you both so much for this. I can’t say how touched I am.”

They both smiled at you, one more awkwardly than the other as they pulled away, all of you content to simply watch the vivid daydream now living and breathing before your eyes. 

“I am glad it is to your liking. You had mentioned your enjoyment of milkshakes before, and in my research I discovered the fantasy novel entitled ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. Written in mid-twentieth century Earth, the book describes a candy inventor who creates an idealistic hyperbole of what a child might imagine candy comes from. Impossible at the time-”

“We know what Willy Wonka is Data.” Wesley playfully rolled his eyes with a widening smirk.

“Oh.” Was all Data said back, almost looking disappointed he couldn’t share the rest of his story.

You grinned, heart ready to burst over with happiness at the cheer of it all. “So how exactly does one eat from a milkshake river?”

Wesley laughed, before rushing ahead of you both to proudly present the hidden ice cream bowls disguised as bush leaves. He described the touch of detail as ‘ingenious’. You all picked one from the bush, excitement rushing through your body as you scooped the replicated dessert from the flowing stream, your friends crouched down beside you.

You looked at Data, his face blank as he stared back at you, emotionless yet caring enough to do all this for you, Wesley falling back on the grass and breathing in the air contentedly.

Maybe you could finally let yourself rely on your friends.

Maybe you could finally let yourself have a home on the _Enterprise._


	8. Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are having a wonderful Monday! Here’s chapter eight of this bad boy, with many more chapters to come. :))

“Data, are you sure about this?” You asked for the third time, voice wavering.

“I will feel nothing if that is what causes your hesitation.” He commented easily, turning to look at you.

You were in the middle of the cybernetics lab, Data standing at the center console as he prepared for you to begin. The lab was empty but for one turbolift-like machine at the core of the room, two computer consoles standing to the left and right of it. The lift was tubular, made for a humanoid to be stood and secured within, holding no walls except two bars which went around the middle, blocking exit. Above the head hung a light, illuminating the cyberneticist's work. 

It was nothing more than an android’s surgical table.

“This doesn’t feel right to me Data.” You murmured, tightening your grip on your decoupler. “I wouldn’t want someone rummaging around in my brain if I were you.”

You had always known and understood that his brain would eventually be a part of your work, his positronic circuitry being the most important part of him. It was what you and so many others had failed to ever recreate. But now Data wanted to move on in your research and you just weren’t sure you were ready. Even a slight nick in the wrong area could cause him major systems failure and you would be unable to stop it. 

You didn’t know what you would do if something happened to him by your hand.

“I will be alright.” He easily cut through your doubts with his tranquilic voice. “I trust in your capabilities.”

You gave him an almost sad smile, one he innocently mirrored back. He nodded for you to continue. You heaved a heavy sigh, providing him one last pleading look, before turning back to the computer console.

“Okay.” You murmured. “Here we go.”

You pressed down on the monitor, watching the lift slowly begin to lower beneath the ground. Data stared blankly ahead, no reaction to his roughly jostling transport. As soon as his head reached the height of your chest you lifted your finger, the machine coming to a smooth stop.

Data looked up at you, carefully nodding once more. “You may begin.”

You swallowed. He looked at you so expectantly, but all you felt was terror in your heart. You took hesitant steps towards him, almost wringing your hands about your tool.

“Can you show me how?” You asked quietly.

“It is a simple procedure.” Data murmured back, tone soothing and calm. His hands pressed against the sides of his forehead, applying pressure only for a moment before a light popping sound could be heard, his entire scalp miraculously, almost horrifyingly lifting from his head, revealing a metallic board of switches, lights and wires blinking off and on in a tirade of colors and thought. 

You froze as he casually handed you what was essentially his skull’s cranium. His artificial hair felt smooth and incredibly real to your fingers. You couldn’t help the queasiness within your stomach as you gently placed it down onto your monitor, precious as porcelain. 

Data gave you a curious look as you returned, your hands shaking as you did nothing but stare at his now opened positronic brain. 

“I-I’m sorry Data. I feel like a helpless child.” You apologized, suddenly feeling suffocated in the small room. How in the hell were you supposed to touch even a single one of his wires?

“Thank you for admitting your faultings. Others have refused to admit they were unprepared and have almost damaged me.” He commented, no malice present in his voice. The top of his _head_ had just been taken off and it meant nothing to him.

He was an android and you were a cyberneticist. These were the basic roles of your existences. 

“Someone did that to you?” You asked, your voice quiet and pained. You almost wished you might miss his answer and spare yourself from having to hear any more of the cruelties humanity had put him through. 

It all meant so much more to you now. It felt _wrong_ to violate him in this manner, as if he were nothing more than a machine in need of someone’s maintenance. 

He was not a **machine.**

“Yes. They seemed to think the speed of which one analyzed me would be a deciding factor in the worth of their research.” Data mused, his eyes suddenly glancing up to yours. “It was not.” 

He was your friend, the closest friend you’d had in years and that was not something you could just ignore. 

“Those people in Starfleet Research, Data. They treat you like you’re some kind of toy for their amusement. Could you have even declined their experiments?” You were unable to keep the bitterness from your voice as you drew nearer to him, holding your tricorder to his head, placing a hand on his shoulder as you leaned closer. 

He was warm to the touch. 

Data noted talking with you helped calm your anxieties. He placed the information into his personal file about you, filled with so many other recordings and observations he had made in the past three months. 

“At the time I could not. It was not until a year ago, when Captain Picard and I helped define android rights, when I was finally allowed to.” You could tell he wanted to turn his head and smile at you, but he restrained himself as your decoupler whizzed on, prying open one of the metallic panes of his brain, even more circuits and switchboards revealed beneath.

You released a silent whistle through your lips, amazed by what you saw. His making was so intricate, so beautiful. Every piece fitted together flawlessly, all working in perfect unison to create Data. If there was even the slightest wire disconnected, if the material was unable to conduct informational charges, if the length was too long or too wide to fit within his form, his entire system would fall apart.

It was all perfect, and it took your breath away. 

“That case was Maddox v. Androids, right?” You asked, almost absentmindedly. Your hand scrawled wildly across your notepad, decoupler held tight between your body and arm as you attempted to copy the impossible design of the positronic brain, labeling each piece in a way you could understand.

“Correct.” Data responded, the red and green lights of his pathways flickering off and on quickly in a strange pattern of thought, before suddenly returning to their color stasis.

Incredibly interesting. It seemed whenever Data’s brain had information to process the lights indicated his level of current activity. Whether there was some kind of code to the pattern you could not yet tell.

“They actually teach the case in the Academy now. Not that I ever read it in detail.” You gave a light laugh, hoping he might show some reaction to the stimulus of a joke. No superficial change occurred.

“Perhaps you could once you find the time.” Data suggested, his voice taking a pointed tone. “As one of the leading minds of cybernetics.”

You smirked at him. Now he was definitely being witty. “Alright, I will then. It’ll be fun to see the Captain all riled up.” 

“By human terms the Captain could adequately be defined as ‘fired up’.” He commented, his lights repeating their strange pattern. 

You laughed once more, unable to stop your giggles. Data took note of what made you laugh. Your tricorder picked up an electrical surge from one conduit to the other. You wondered what he was thinking about.

“Your neural net pathways are so incredibly complex, I would never have been able to recreate this design without your model.” You murmured to him, engrossed by all the ideas and concepts you had never considered before. You could write an entire book on everything you had learned in the last half hour, and it would do more for the cybernetic field of study than all other papers before it combined.

Data seemed surprised. His eyes shifted back and forth, the lights of his mind shimmering more rapidly than previously observed.

“It would take years to recreate, even with my model.” He began slowly, his eyebrows set deeply on his face as his brain continued to process whatever had intrigued him.

“That’s alright. I’ll figure it out eventually.” You smiled, placing both your hands on his shoulders from behind, leaning forward as you met his eyes, almost childlike in your glee. “After all, I have you to believe in me.”

He programmedly smiled back at you, a distinct portion of his brain suddenly spiking in energy as he attempted to understand your strange behavior.

“Oh wow, these are your heuristic associative pathways, right?” You asked with sudden and extreme excitement, bouncing away from him as you ran your tricorder over the complicated collection of wires, not dissimilar to a bundle of nerves. 

“Yes, they are what make learning new things possible for me.” Data’s voice spoke with unwavering clarity, his face not yet settled from your unexpected physical contact.

“Doctor Soong was a genius.” You grinned to yourself, scribbling more information down onto your notes. “I don’t know how many times I can say it.” 

“Taking into account the average human female lifespan, as well as the fact that it took you three seconds to say, with the additional estimated time of sleeping and eating, you could say it around fourteen billion-” 

“Data. I was being rhetorical.” You tapped your notebook, giving him a pointed look.

“Oh. You were not expecting an answer.” He replied simply, another surge of power traveling to his heuristic pathways in an instant. You took a closer look, careful to move the wires as gently as possible, sure to keep them untangled.

“Data, there’s… I don’t know how to say this but these look like _dead_ circuits.” You admitted with disbelief, unsure of what else they might be. “They’re here but somehow you aren’t using them!”

He showed no reaction, only blinking once as he took a moment to process what you had said, his positronic net blinking alive once more. You glanced between your notes and the circuits, hoping you might be wrong. 

If there really were unused portions of Data’s brain it could mean an infinium of different possibilities. It could mean he was unfinished, and an important piece of him was lying dormant within the dead machinery. It could also mean Dr. Soong had purposefully shut the circuits off because they were a danger, or maybe they simply didn’t work.

Every explanation though began with the fact that there were parts of Data even he did not understand.

“I will begin a self-diagnostic once we have finished. I do not expect to find an answer, as it is more than likely Dr. Soong programmed my systems to overlook this issue, as I have never noticed it’s absence before.” He explained with perfect logic, seemingly unaffected by the news.

“Would you mind telling me more about Dr. Soong?” You asked, taking careful steps around the back of your small workstation, needing to see his face as he answered. He had never mentioned his creator to you before.

“I do not know much about him. I do not recall ever speaking with him before his murder.” He stated, his face still expressive even without the top of his head. 

“The Crystal Entity.” You nodded your head in understanding. You at least knew that much about Data’s past.

“I have a brother as well.” He added with a soft quirk of his eyebrows. “His name is Lore.”

“Wh-What?” You stammered, taking a small step back, as if the news had physically shoved you away. “How could you possibly have a brother?”

“Lore was created before me. We share our physical features, but inwardly, Lore contains emotion and feelings. He was created so perfectly human the colonists of Omicron Theta grew jealous, and demanded Dr. Soong build a less perfect android.” Data explained, his blank face somehow tinged with sadness. “I am the android less perfect than Lore.”

You shook your head, unable to comprehend everything Data was telling you. He had a brother, who was alive, somewhere out in the world, living and breathing, full of emotions, bearing Data’s face, and he wasn’t with him?

“We should find him then!” You exclaimed, already typing out ideas on your tricorder. “If he’s your brother then you two should be together. I bet he could show you how to have emotions, and then you would be perfect too!”

Data stared blankly as you spoke, your sudden hope withering at the dark look you saw on his face. 

“We can never be together. Lore’s emotions have transformed him into a violent and dangerous person. He believes artificial life to be superior to natural life, and would see it destroyed if given the chance.” Data’s eyes bore into yours as he calmly spoke, subtly pleading with you to understand, hoping you might see him as a different individual from his brother. He needed you to believe he would be different with emotions.

He needed you to believe so he could.

You placed your tools down, raising the central lift as you struggled to think of what to say. You knew he couldn’t _feel_ sad, or alone, or different, but you also knew he could _understand_ all of these lonely things, and how they applied to himself. He knew he was different from everyone else, he knew he was alone in the universe, and this affected his perception of himself and the others around him.

His response was to become human, and change who he was.

But to have this person, this brother, who was actually like him, who made him _feel_ less alone, who had lost himself to evil, and actually caused Data to believe he might end up just the same…

Data understood he had lost something important. 

You understood he felt that loss, and needed someone else to see it too.

You didn’t waste time making up some broken sentence or thought which you would struggle through, hoping he might understand what you meant. As soon as the lift stopped moving you ran towards him, flinging open the bars and throwing yourself around him.

“I’m sorry.” You whispered into his ear, pulling his chest closer to yours, wrapping your arms and hands around his neck as you rested your chin onto his shoulder. He was so warm against your body, his pulse beating clearly within his chest. You had read about his circulatory system before, but to actually feel it beating against your own heart was an entirely different experience, one you felt safe and comforted by.

“Why are you apologizing?” He asked with confusion, once again lost by your physical touch, so completely human with him in the ways all others had refused to share. He had never been hugged before, and he was lost as to what he should do. 

He wrapped his arms around your waist as he pulled you closer to him. He was careful not to harm you, applying just the right pressure to feel you but not injure you. His sensors were flooding him with information, your heat all across his body, your breath against his cheek, the way your heart rate sped up as he touched you… it was all very interesting. 

“I’m sorry that you feel alone, Data. I’m sorry that you have these unanswerable questions about yourself.” You murmured into his clothes. He smelled like lavender laundry detergent. “But you should never think of yourself as less than perfect. You’re smart, and kind, and dependable, and much more human than you believe. If your brother really is some kind of artificial supremacist, then to me, that makes you better than he’ll ever be.”

You understood him. You were _listening_ to him. You hadn’t shoved away his issues simply because he could not experience emotion. You knew they still meant something to him, still affected him. 

You were caring for him.

“But I am incomplete. Dr. Soong failed in my creation when he was murdered.” He spoke in a tone you had never heard before, his voice gentle and slow, almost cautious as he pulled back to look at you. 

You knew he had never said this to anyone before. Not even Geordi. 

“Even if you are incomplete you’re still perfect.” You grinned at him, taking his face between your hands. “You’re perfect because you’re you Data. Uncomparable, wonderful Data.”

His eyebrows tightened together, his eyes full of confusion as he awkwardly placed his hands onto your face as well. “I am not sure I understand.”

You laughed and shook your head, taking a step away from him, heart racing for some unknown reason as you grabbed his disassembled cranium. “You will. Just think about it for a little while.”

He looked down, allowing you to reattach the top of his head as he attempted to comprehend all you had said and done. As you clicked his hair into place, he thought about how you had hugged him, and how you had understood everything he meant better than anyone else he’d met in the entire universe.

Not even Lore had been able to understand the emotionless context of his thoughts and feelings. 

You were a cyberneticist who had always wanted to understand androids. He was an android who had always wanted to be understood.

His hand reached out for yours, still amazed by how perfectly they fit together. Now it was your turn to be taken aback by his touch, his golden eyes looking at your hands as if they were made of the most precious materials in the galaxy.

“If I were to be destroyed, everything I am and Dr. Soong worked for would be lost.” He began still not removing his gaze from your interlocked fingers as he took a step closer.

“Y-Yes, this is true.” You barely managed to say, your heart now leaping into your throat.

“I want to create an android with you.” Data said, his body towering over yours as he looked down into your eyes. “I want you to help me create my child.”

“Your _what?!_” You shouted in terror, struggling with him for a moment as you pulled your hand away from his, backing up and slamming into your computer monitor in your haste to escape. “Data, what the hell are you talking about!”

“My child. I have been planning on creating another android based on my design since I first learned of the human reproduction process.” He explained his sudden and insane words simply, as if you had no reason to be so surprised. “We would be using my information to create a new life form. Would this not be the same as reproduction?”

“No, Data, I don’t think it would be.” You murmured, shaking your head vehemently. You couldn’t imagine an android having a _child_, much less them wanting you to be a part of it. Even if a human had asked you to participate in reproduction you would have been terrified, probably much more so than you even were now. 

“Asexual reproduction is a form of reproduction by which offspring arise from a single organism, and inherit the genes of that parent only. This would be exactly what I am attempting to do.” Data continued, taking a small step towards you. 

You were the first real hope he’d had for successfully creating another android. You were incredibly intelligent and capable, sympathetic towards the difficulties of being an android and his only chance at finding someone willing to help him. 

Before he had met you he had never once thought a human would support his ambition of becoming a parent. The thought of him being able to create another android, with all of his superhuman capabilities, unsupervised by any natural race, discomforted and terrified them. 

He knew you would be different. 

You were the only person like him in the whole universe.

“I suppose that is true.” You muttered, slightly relaxing at his words, his voice as smooth as ever. 

“So would the offspring not be my child?” Data asked, a genuine question in his eyes.

You sighed, rubbing at your forehead exasperatedly as you could only hope to keep up with this conversation. “Cybernetics is so complicated.”

Data nodded once, before glancing at your notes, his positronic brain almost perfectly mapped out, so simple even a first-year at the Academy could understand it. “It does not appear to be so complicated for you.”

You smirked at him, lightly pushing his shoulder as you felt a pleased blush bloom across your face. “Enough with your compliments, you charmer.”

You froze as soon as the words had left your lips, your eyes widened as you quickly glanced to see Data’s reaction, as if you had committed some great crime.

He stared at you for a moment, one of his eyebrows cocking upward, and you could easily imagine the flickering lights of his brain dancing their strange dance, processing what your words had meant, before he glanced away, seemingly deciding to drop the subject.

_Did you just flirt with an android?!_

You could feel yourself begin to panic, unable to look anywhere but the floor. 

No, no way. You had just been teasing him, it was a joke! It wasn’t like you were actually trying to get somewhere with your comment. There wasn’t even any place to get!

“(F/N), there is something I have been meaning to show you.” He suddenly said, his hands pulling his shirt from out of his pants in one fluid movement.

A raging blush filled your face, your hands splayed out before you as if to stop him from his less than professional actions. “D-Data, what are you..?”

Your words die prematurely on your tongue, Data’s stomach now revealed for your viewing pleasure. 

He had a belly button. A pointless, useless belly button, yet it was there all the same.

He also had abs, which you were somewhat ashamed to admit you were admiring. He was lightly toned, his skin the same milky white as the rest of his body.

What you did not expect to see was a single, curly line of auburn hair traveling down his stomach and into his tight, Starfleet uniform pants. 

You idly wondered where it might lead...

Nope, no. You shook yourself roughly, shoving all of your strange thoughts away. You must have been extremely tired. 

You also probably needed to get a boyfriend. 

“This is my off switch.” Data interrupted your rampant thoughts. 

You looked at him in disbelief. “Your _what?_”

“It is a simple switch, with the capabilities of shutting down all of my functions.” He elaborated, turning to show you his back. There was a small, white sliding button attached to the right side of his waist, almost impossible to notice without him pointing it out.

“I-I’ve never heard of it before. Not even when I researched you in school.” You whispered, awestruck. You reached your hand forward without a second thought, gently feeling his skin as you touched around the switch, not noticing how his eyes followed your finger’s every movement. His skin felt a bit waxier, almost thicker compared to a human’s, but was still soft and pleasant to touch. 

“Only four others know of its existence. Geordi, Doctor Crusher, Captain Picard, and Commander Riker. And now you as well.” Data smiled softly, his voice sweet and kindly in its unassuming quietness.

“I don’t know what to say, Data. Thank you for trusting me with this.” You answered, truly touched. He had purposefully wanted to show you his greatest weakness. He wanted to let you in, and let you be even closer to him. 

He wanted you, he liked you, he supported you, he respected you. 

You wanted to give it all back to him.

“I’ll help you.” You decided then, unable to deny any longer you had grown a soft spot for his dumb face. “I’ll help you create your child.”

Data smiled at you, and you could almost fool yourself into believing it wasn’t apart of his programming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my godddd ya’ll I just watched the season six finale “Descent” from TNG... Am I the only one whose heart literally squeezes whenever Data’s on screen? ;-;


	9. Risky Chances

“You’re telling me Data plays poker?” You chuckled at the thought of him bluffing a hand. 

“Oh yeah, he’s quite good at it too!” Geordi shared in your laugh, both of you working side by side in the Engineering room. The lieutenant commander had you working with him whenever he had the chance. He said you worked smoothly together, and you found you agreed. 

You hadn’t told him about Data’s proposal. You hadn’t told anyone. You weren’t even sure what you would say. How could you tell Data’s best friend he felt lonely? That he wanted to create a _child_ for himself? Would Geordi even be able to accept the concept at all?

You didn’t want to endanger Data or any of his relationships. He needed you to trust him, and you would. 

“He must have an amazing poker face.” You teased, your plastered smile concealing the hidden turmoil which churned within your chest.

You couldn’t help but feel painfully guilty. Were you aiding Data because he had asked, or were you really selfishly taking this chance to slap your name on a Soong-type android and never look back? Were you in truth only using him, and keeping it a secret from your fellow officers like some sort of cowardly child?

Didn’t at least the Captain deserve to know?

“What time is he stopping by again?” Geordi asked without looking up from his calculations.

“He said he’d be here around sixteen hundred hours.” You murmured, glancing at your tricorder. He still had ten minutes before he was late. “We’ve been making good progress. We almost have his entire positronic brain mapped out.”

Geordi’s eyebrows lifted, his VISOR concealing his eyes but not his expression as he gasped, an uncontrollable grin splitting his face. “You realize what that means, right?”

“Data and I will go down in history?” You asked sarcastically, hoping to avoid the subject.

“In about five years there could be androids all over the galaxy!” He exclaimed excitedly, lightly hitting your shoulder with his hand. “Data and you could help Starfleet create an entire race!”

You chewed on your lips, unable to speak as the guilt drowned your voice. Data didn’t want Starfleet to create other androids. He saw them as his _children._ That right of creation belonged to him, and him alone. 

He had asked for your help, and you would give it to him, but you knew now you wouldn’t claim any right over the new life. You would be just as bad as Starfleet Research if you tried to own a sentient lifeform in such a manner.

No, you would keep Data’s secret and protect his child from the cruel people who saw androids only as their possessions to buy, sell or command. It was your duty as a cyberneticist to defend him from the dark side of humanity.

It was your duty as his friend to be there with him every step of the way. 

“You know, I wonder if he ever feels lonely. He never says anything about it, but sometimes he just really seems like he’s looking for something.” Geordi murmured, glancing your way. “Something none of us can help him with.”

Your heart swelled. Geordi really did care about Data. 

You placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling him closer as you spoke. “Geordi, as long as he has you he’ll never be alone. You treat him like a human being and he treasures it. You’re his family.”

Geordi smiled, nodding his head as he looked at the ground almost shyly. He had always been unsure about his friendship with Data, ever since he had first met him two years ago. It was nice to finally hear another person reaffirm what he had always believed about the android. 

“You know Ensign, I think you’ve become part of that family too.” He subtly smirked, refusing to look at you as he went back to work on the ship’s computer. “You and Data have become _awfully_ close.”

You cut your eyes at him, playfully glaring. “And what is that supposed to mea-”

The entire room rocked to the left, throwing both of you to the ground without a moment’s warning. Red lights flooded the Engineering room, Commander Riker’s voice interrupting the silent hum of the impulse engines. 

“Red alert! The Enterprise is under attack by a Romulan Warbird. All essential personnel to battle stations, now!” He commanded loudly, his voice free of hesitation. The ship gave a final beep as he signed off, you and Geordi glancing meaningfully at each other as the ship shook violently once more.

You both gave the other a reassuring nod, before shooting to your feet, ready to perform your duties.

You glanced over your shoulder as you sprinted away, catching a glimpse of your commanding officer. Geordi ordered his officers with an ease you could never possess, telling them where to go and what to do with complete assurance in himself. 

The floor raced beneath your feet as you practically fell into the hallway, another hit almost knocking you to your knees as you fought to stay on course.

“Shields at eighty percent!” Geordi called out just as the Engineering doors hissed shut.

Your heart sped within your chest, your lungs unable to catch their breath as you slammed open the computer core, your fingers already wrapped around the memory stick sitting within your pocket.

Now was the moment you had been waiting for all your career.

The core was dark, screens all over the room primed and ready for use, blinking and flickering. The room was empty as usual, officers under no orders to use the room unless there was an issue in need of fixing. Yet for you, this place served as your hunting ground for new opportunities. 

“Okay, time to put this little theory to the test.” You mumbled beneath your breath as you slid the drive into port, the ship’s computers instantly coming alive on your screen, access to engines, shields, phasers and everything in between waiting at your fingertips. 

With two taps of your monitor you downloaded your program onto a class-2 probe, prepping it for launch. You had to move fast, else a commanding officer would order you to stop. This was definitely not within protocol, but it was also your only chance at proving your technology worked.

The ship shook wildly once more, and you pressed the launch button with little hesitation.

The probe moved quickly, within range of the Warbird in less than twenty seconds. You began your program, a rush of adrenaline flooding your system as the Romulan’s computers appeared before yours, all of their subsystems displayed simply for your use.

You gasped, laughing loudly as you slapped your screen in disbelief. Your program had been built to transmit a subspace frequency which would allow you access to any known computer you had already created within its systems. 

Before you could shut off the Warbird’s engines, a sudden screen surged alive, numbers flying wildly on and off the monitor as the Romulans attempted to regain control of their ship. You hadn’t considered they might try hacking the probe. 

“Ensign (Y/N)!” Captain Picard’s voice roared from your combadge, filled with blistering rage. “Commander Data has just informed me you have launched a _probe_ under no such orders to do so.”

Your hands flew across your computer's number pad, code appearing and disappearing almost faster than the human eye could see. The Romulan officer was good but you were better, your programming faster, stronger and stabler than his could ever hope to be. You could really use Data on your side right about now, but you understood he was only performing his duty. 

“Ensign, respond or I will be forced to alert security!” Picard demanded, his patience for this brash young officer run thin. He had no idea how someone like you had ever been assigned to Starfleet’s flagship, but you could be sure you wouldn’t be here for much longer.

“I’ve taken control of the Warbird, sir.” You finally answered with a calmness you did not feel, your voice concealing the proud giddiness which you felt in that moment, shutting off the Romulan’s engines with but a tap of your finger.

There was an audible silence on the opposing side of your communications, nothing but static as you waited for the Captain’s response, a grin splitting your face.

“Repeat, Ensign.” Picard ordered almost warily.

‘I managed to subside the Warbird’s systems and take control of their computers. They are currently at your complete disposal, sir.” You explained, chest swelling with unadulterated pride. 

Another brief moment of silence passed before he muttered, “Ensign, on screen.”

“Yes, sir.” You murmured, your lofty spirits quickly dampened. He must have been furious at you for all you had done. You had hoped your results would speak for themselves, but apparently your Captain was not satisfied.

The bridge flickered onto your screen, all of the senior officers staring at your face, and you couldn’t help but deflate at the thought. Data sat at the operations chair, his face blank of emotion. You felt a slight shiver crawl across your skin at the way he looked at you, as if he didn’t even recognize you.

“Why did no one inform me of this plan?” Picard began cautiously.

“I didn’t tell anyone else. There is no one else to blame but me, sir.” You bowed your head. You had been such a fool once again. You had disrespected the chain of command, the regulation of experiments and battle procedures all in one fell swoop. Your career was at an effective end.

“Here on the _Enterprise_ you consult your Captain before making such brash decisions! Is that understood?” He barked, his face stern and striking. 

You were crushed, unable to look at the screen or Data’s blank eyes for a second longer. You were going to be kicked off the ship and you weren’t even sure your friend would care. “Yes, Captain.”

“And Ensign,”

You glanced up, prepared for the final blow.

“Good job.” Was all he said instead, the side of his mouth twitching in an almost smile, before the screen flashed off, leaving you alone, your heart racing a mile a minute.

You released a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding, your body almost shaking from the aftermath of everything that had happened. You had placed everything on the line, but it had all worked out in the end. You could practically faint from relief. 

Your combadge suddenly switched back on, Picard’s voice communicating clearly. “Autopilot the Warbird to the nearest Starbase, I’ll be sure they receive a warm welcome.” 

You laughed in amusement, setting the coordinates into your program. “Aye, sir.”

The ship had been told to shut down all systems, even escape pods and shuttle crafts as it made its way to the Federation base. Systems would not return even if it went out of range your probe, leaving them prisoners within their own ship. You would send the Starbase the access code once you knew the Romulans had been detained.

All of a sudden the doors hissed open, a dozen Engineering officers flooding the room as they chanted and hollered, all scrambling to get a word in, shouting and howling in laughter over one another as they drew closer like some sort of elated mob.

“Where did you come up with such a crazy idea?!”

“Did you create that virus, or import it from somewhere else?”

“You bought it from the other side of the Neutral Zone, didn’t you?”

“Shut up, no self respecting Starfleet officer would buy a _thing_ from them!”

And so on it went, all of them barraging you with questions, not allowing you a single word in as they began to make up their own stories. You laughed in a sort of worried way, lightly raising one of your fingers.

“Um, if I may-”

Another loud wave of laughter interrupted you as someone had made a joke you missed, your station now completely surrounded by officers on all sides. The walls felt like they were closing in, no way out except running away, which would look strange as they were here to celebrate you.

You began to consider transporting yourself away when a familiar voice called out, “Give her some room, people!”

It was Geordi, everyone obeying their commanding officer as the room quieted, the crowd parting like the Red Sea as your friend approached you, a proud smile on his face.

“I knew there was a reason I hired you.” He teased, clapping you on the shoulder. 

All you could do was laugh, overwhelmed by the pure joy you felt at finally being able to contribute, your abilities recognized once again as they had been at the Academy. Turned out you could survive in a Starship, just another thing your professors had been wrong about.

“The people at Research are gonna be all over this when the Captain sends his report in.” Geordi beamed, as if it was a good thing.

You glanced away, giving a slight nod as you mulled over his words. Starfleet Research would never appreciate the fact that you had done what you did in the midst of a firefight, as the Captain did. They would only see that you had ignored all of their rules and done whatever you wanted, regardless of their say in it.

“How long have you had that little bug up your sleeve?” Geordi asked, humor in his voice.

He snapped you out of your negative thoughts, a smirk pulling at your lips. “Since my third year at the Academy.”

“I’m really starting to believe you and Data are going to achieve the impossible.” He admitted, his voice gentle and filled with friendly affection, the officers in the room resuming their lively chatter.

“Oh, Geordi,” You playfully squeezed his shoulder, your voice just the same, “We’re only getting started.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Not a lot of Data, but it was still a fun chapter to write. I finished TNG this weekend and I've felt like sobbing ever since. ;-;-; My fic is my only solace!


	10. Poker Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy moly! First of all I deeply apologize for missing last week, I went on a big trip and had no time for writing. This chapter was extremely long and difficult to write, but I managed to get it out in a way I liked. Thank you for reading and being patient with me. 
> 
> Now reader, engage!

“This has all been _wildly_ out of protocol! I hope you understand there _will_ be thorough repercussions for your actions.” The silver-haired Admiral shouted at you through the screen, his face red as a tomato.

“Yes, sir. I understand.” You managed to grit through your teeth, your arms clenched harshly together to refrain from spitting the poisonous thoughts which festerd at the tip of your tongue. 

He had been yelling at you for the past two hours, repeating himself over and over, about how angry he was, how he couldn’t _believe_ you would ever do something like this, how he had such high hopes for you too…

You could barely stop yourself from rolling your eyes in his face.

“You will not be allowed to conduct any experiments without Starfleet’s direct permission for a year!” He growled with derisive finality, turning his face from yours.

“What?!” You shot up from your seat, shock and anger hardening your voice. “You can’t do this, sir!”

“Ensign, you are coming dangerously close to insubordination!” He roared, his scruffy eyebrows deeply set down his face in pure outrage. “Does your Captain have an issue maintaining authority which requires my attention?”

“No, sir.” You spat, reclaiming your seat bitterly.

“Hmph. Thought not.” He grumbled, shifting in his seat and straightening his shirt. “I will be reporting all of this to your Captain. Haftel out.”

You slammed your fist onto the table, frustration chasing after his smug image. He treated you like an insolent child. He had grabbed you by the scruff of your neck and dragged you around like his plaything. 

You practically stomped out of the observation lounge, blood hot and ready to boil. You’d have thought they would give you a medal for inventing the greatest military weapon of the last decade. Instead they were only mad you hadn’t given them the chance to take any credit for it.

You sighed roughly, scowling at the ground as if the carpeted flooring was what had offended you so. You found yourself in the turbolift, aggressively calling out your destination to the computer. 

You were really dreading seeing everyone in Engineering.

Especially Data.

“Is something wrong, (F/N)?” Deanna asked, her warm and comforting voice suddenly interrupting your storming thoughts, her chocolate eyes kind and open as she took a small step towards you. 

“Oh, no I’m fine.” You instantly replied, throwing up your mask of professionalism as you offered her a forced smile. 

The Counselor smirked playfully, giving you a pointed look as she lightly tapped the side of her head. “You forget that I’m an empath.”

You let out a laugh, nodding your head with a tired grin. “I’m sorry, I’m just not used to being… _open_ about my feelings.”

“Not many of us are. Comes with being a military officer I think.” She teased, her nose scrunching as she did. 

“It’s just… I feel like Starfleet Research is being unfair. I create them a weapon that can quite literally change how our military works, and they reprimand me for it!” You exasperated, crossing your arms, annoyance rising once more as you were reminded of _Admiral Haftel’s_ face and his vain superiority. 

“Regulations exist for a reason, you know. They aren’t trying to trick you.” She soothed, resting her hand on your shoulder as a look of concern flashed across her face.

“You’d be surprised.” You mumbled unthinkingly.

Deanna stopped for a moment in surprise, her eyes shifting between yours. “Have you always had such a distrust in authority?”

“N-No, I don’t.” You sighed, tiredly dragging your hand across your face in the hopes of concealing your expression. “I just don’t trust Starfleet Research.”

“Why? Have you had any experience with them before now?” She asked softly, her head tilting to the side.

You knew she was asking out of care, that she was only trying to help you, but as your words died on the tip of your tongue, your mind racing to find anything better to say, it felt like nothing more than another interrogation. Anything you said to her could go directly into your permanent profile, with one word she could have you labeled as ‘paranoid’ or ‘suspicious’ and your career would be over.

“They’re… they’re just no good.” You finally said, your words lame and your mouth dry. You shifted in your stance, hoping your superior officer would simply let the matter drop. 

“You don’t have to explain if you don’t want to.” The Counselor clarified, her voice almost angelic in it’s soft cantor. “I’m only here to help.”

You smiled, genuinely for the first time since the beginning of your conversation, the solid wall of ice surrounding your heart melting at her offer of help, free of any hidden agenda. She only wanted to know if you were okay.

“Thank you, Troi.” You softly murmured, warm affection suddenly swelling within your chest.

“Call me Deanna.” She laughed, her empathic powers flooding her with the same friendly feeling, the physical barrier which had so long been around your mind now collapsed, every thought and emotion now pouring out from you in waves. It brought great comfort to Troi to finally feel you in this way.

You both shared a smile, before you suddenly remembered what you had been doing, your body jumping to motion as the turbolift’s doors opened to Engineering. “Oh, I’m sorry, but I’ve got a lot of work to do. I better get going.”

“Yes, I’m sure Data’s off looking for you now.” Deanna grinned, a teasing glint to her eye.

You snickered, waving her goodbye as you happily turned to leave. 

“Wait!” Deanna called out behind you, halting your movements. “How would you feel about coming to a poker game tonight? Sixteen hundred hours in Commander Riker’s room?”

“You guys play poker?” You asked, pleasantly surprised.

“Every week.” She smirked confidently, before the turbolift’s doors slid shut, leaving you behind in a cozy bubble of sweetness. Lifting morale was almost effortless for the Counselor.

You took a few steps forward and your smile quickly melted away, the bubble popping as the cold realization of your punishment washed over you, your feet dragging as you returned to your station. Your tools were laid out across your desk, now rendered useless thanks to Admiral Haftel.

You sighed, picking at your tricorder in a painful sulk, before someone cleared their throat right by your ear.

You twisted in surprise, only to see Data standing next to you, a pleased smile resting on his face.

“Where did you learn that little trick?” You laughed in surprise, relief and apprehension filling your chest as your eyes finally rested on those of your closest friend.

“Ensign Wesley taught it to me after an unexpected demonstration by Commander Riker this morning.” Data explained, his golden gaze moving about your face, checking if you were alright. He did not see any signs of crying, in fact you appeared to be perfectly fine. 

“You’re becoming more human by the day.” You attempted a joke, turning back to your workstation as you attempted to evade Data’s close study. The words you wanted to say sat stubbornly within your throat, rough and course, unable to be spoken.

“Geordi said you were in the conference room speaking with the head of Research.” He ignored your effort at humor, instead stepping closer, his arm lightly touching yours. 

You simply nodded, unable to speak.

“Would it be inappropriate if I inquired as to what it was they said to you?” 

“They scolded me, what else can you expect?” You answered sharply, shrugging your shoulders as if you could simply shake away the resentment burying its way into your heart. 

“I also expected they would assign you prolonged punishment, to demonstrate the level of their authority.” Data explained with complete simplicity, his lack of empathy almost humorous.

You gave him a lazy glare, knowing he did not mean to come across as cold. “Well you’d be right.”

You leaned against your desk, as if you needed the support to get out what you wanted to say. You could already see his disappointment flashing within your mind. “I can’t conduct any experiments for a year.”

His eyebrows fell across his face. “I am sorry, though this is not unexpected of Starfleet Research.”

“No, I’m sorry. I just threw all of our work away because I wanted to show off.” You admitted, bitterly gripping your hands together, knowing what you had to say but resisting the notion with every inch of your being. “You’re going to need to...find someone else to work with.” 

He cocked his head curiously. “But I do not want anyone else-”

“I can’t expect you to wait a year for me, Data! We’re so close to finishing, don’t let our work just rot in the back of my station because of _my_ dumb mistake!” You practically shouted in his face, all of the rage you had hidden so well with Troi now pouring out painfully in front of Data. 

He only looked at you, his face and tone the epitome of patience as he reached out for your hand, placing his palm atop the back of your fist. Your hand relaxed beneath his touch, allowing his fingers to slip between yours.

It appeared physical touch truly was comforting to humans. 

“Starfleet decided you cannot perform experiments without their permission. This does not mean you cannot _research_ my model, or assist me in the reproduction of my kind.” He described his convenient point of view so easily you suspected he had guessed what your punishment would be hours ago. __

_ _“Don’t try and convince me Research would ever accept your ‘reproduction’ excuse. I’m smarter than that.” You warned him, words biting and tone harsh. You wouldn’t allow him to cause himself problems just to make you feel better. “My help will only get you into trouble and you know it. Don’t be sentimental.”_ _

_ _“It is impossible for me to be motivated by sentiment. I will need you when the time comes to create my child. You have been invaluable to my work already, and you are the only person I trust to help me.” Data spoke so gently, his face so soft and kind it twisted your heart._ _

_ _You simply smiled at him, taking his face between your hands as he effortlessly found yet another way to plunge himself deeper into your affections. “Data, you are just too kind to me. You can’t even see the flaws in your own argument.”_ _

_ _His eyes roamed your face, sensing a new human interrelation he had yet to experience within your touch. “My requirement of you is not out of affection.”_ _

_ _“Is it because I’m a genius?” You quipped, dropping your arms to your sides as you quietly stepped away from him._ _

_ _“Yes.” He muttered softly, eyes chasing after your gentle hands. He did not have an emotional requirement from his friends, or anyone at all really. He had no capacity for human feeling, and in turn had no need for comfort or closeness in the physical manner._ _

_ _Yet your face, your words, your voice somehow found their ways into his many rapid thoughts, haunting him at every turn of the day. You were an afterthought to every moment of his life._ _

_ _Fix the replicators. Answer Geordi. Your eyes light up when you laugh. Run the routine. Follow the Captain’s orders. Your heart races when you hug him. _ _

_ _He could not remove you from his thoughts even if he had held the desire to. He could only equate this strange sensation to your unfounded similarities, to your unique understanding of androids and his distinct existence. You were simply an interesting person to study, decipher and compare himself to. He could not rationally account his rampant thoughts to _human_ affection. _ _

_ _He required you only out of a demand for your skills. Any other reason his circuits had provided him was simply a bizarre error to be ignored and promptly repaired. _ _

_ _Data was incapable of love, he knew this. It was strange his diagnostic systems had ever suggested he could experience such a thing for you. He had been practicing too much Shakespeare, the ancient romantic sonnets were affecting his thought processes. _ _

_ _You looked around for a second, before dramatically sighing, giving into him just as you always did. “Alright, alright. But if they get you in trouble, don’t come crying to me.”_ _

_ _“I am incapable of crying, so you will not have to worry.” He answered innocently, your meaning flying over his head. _ _

_ _You shook your head. “It’s a saying.”_ _

_ _You would never tire of explaining such simple and pure things to him._ _

_ _He looked slightly confused, before putting his thoughts away, stepping into your workplace silently as he grasped your PADD, his body pressed to yours. You could smell his detergent again, and you found you could not help but slowly lean deeper into his side…_ _

_ _You snapped back, hands scrambling to grasp your hard-labored notes as you sought an excuse to keep your mind away from the man standing next to you. Unfortunately, the notes were all about him and did little to keep your attention away from the way your heart currently beat._ _

_ _Each minute passed torturously slow, your eyes dancing between your papers and your partner’s hands, even breathing suddenly difficult as you struggled to keep any focus at all. You must have been ill._ _

_ _“I think you and I might be going to the same poker game.” You suddenly spoke up, unable to keep the tense silence for a moment longer._ _

_ _A wide, closed-mouth smile split Data’s face, his voice almost dancing with excitement as he spoke. “This means you have been accepted into the ‘inner circle’, a group of people who differentiate themselves from others by performing activities together. This can be to form tight-knit social groups, or to simply destress in a safe and welcomed environment.”_ _

_ _You giggled, leaning your chin onto your hand. “I know all that Data.”_ _

_ _He looked away in deep confusion, suddenly questioning his strange behavior which had made such perfect sense to him. “I do not know why I thought I should explain such a thing to you.”_ _

_ _You studied him closely as he spoke, watching each slight change of his face, every unspoken word displayed plainly. He really thought of you as an android, you mused. He felt the need to explain even the simplest human behavior to you. _ _

_ _“Thanks for the advice.” You murmured, inexplicably touched as you teasingly bumped his shoulder with your own._ _

_ _He glanced down at his arm, before slamming his body back into yours much harder than you anticipated, throwing you off balance as Data blankly watched you scramble to stay standing. “I do not understand the purpose of this action.”_ _

_ _“It’s _supposed_ to be a playful way of displaying affection.” You grumbled as you rubbed your now aching shoulder. _ _

_ _“Hm. I will try and do it more often then.” He nodded with serene understanding._ _

_ _It was like he was taking care of his pet!_ _

_ _“Just try and be more careful next time?” You asked with a wince._ _

_ _Before Data could respond Geordi stormed in, brimming full with cheer and laughter, the embodiment of sunlight._ _

_ _“Hey, you coming Data? You’re gonna be late for the poker game!” He exclaimed with a pearly white grin as he gestured toward the turbolift._ _

_ _Data straightened, giving his friend a courteous smile. “(Y/N) is coming tonight as well.”_ _

_ _“Really? Well you’re gonna have a lot of fun, trust me, it’s Data at his best.” Geordi smirked._ _

_ _You guffawed, eyes dancing between your friends. “Well _now_ I’m intrigued.”_ _

_ _“I do not see how playing poker is the best example of my abilities.” Data murmured curiously._ _

_ _“No, but (Y/N) will.” Geordi chuckled as he clasped his hands around the both of your shoulders, leading you to the turbolifts._ _

_ _As Data relayed the appropriate deck level to the computer, a great feeling of anticipation began to churn within your stomach, the elevator flying through the ship and giving you no time to prepare. When Deanna had invited you only an hour before you hadn’t thought much of it._ _

_ _Now you were standing in front of Commander Riker’s doors and you couldn’t help the grin which already spread across your face._ _

_ _Data’s friends wanted you to be a part of them. You were going to have a night with the senior officers. You couldn’t have asked for anything better after the day you’d had._ _

_ _ _Thank you Deanna!_ _ _

_ _As soon as you entered Data reached over and placed a billiard hat on his head, and you knew the rest of the night would be amazing._ _

_ _“Ohohoho, now what is that!” You giggled, grinning wider than a child on Christmas. _ _

_ _“It is my dealer’s hat.” He explained simply, as if it were common knowledge._ _

_ _Riker called out your name from the game table, pure delight shining on his face. “I had no idea you were coming! What a wonderful surprise, Data.”_ _

_ _You laughed into your hand. “Actually it was Deanna who invited me.”_ _

_ _He turned to his oldest friend with a stern look in his eye, a small grin creeping upon his face as he tried to maintain strict composure. “Guess the thought slipped from your mind.”_ _

_ _“I suppose it did.” She laughed, Geordi joining in as the three of you took your seats._ _

_ _There was a large Klingon sat directly across from you, his face stone cold as he studied you carefully. You had met a few of his kind in the Academy, but you’d never been very close to one. It was interesting he had chosen so many humans to share his table._ _

_ _“Worf this is (Y/N).” Deanna introduced you, sensing his discomfort with your presence. _ _

_ _“Greetings. I have heard much of you and Data’s companionship.” He spoke brusquely, his face and tone unchanging. His friends cringed at his bluntness, all of them peeking to see what your reaction would be._ _

_ _You simply smiled, turning to look at your android companion. His eyes were on you already, his face mimicking yours as he shared in your amused simper. _ _

_ _“I never expected to find a friendship like ours, but find it I did, and for that I’ll forever be grateful.” You said uncomplicatedly, sure of what Data meant to you. You were creating life together, and to you that meant the world._ _

_ _Data looked back to his friends proudly, as if to say ‘look at what a treasure I have found’._ _

_ _Geordi grinned at you cheesily, Riker and Deana speaking with their eyes as Worf nodded sagely. _ _

_ _“You will make a fine mate for Lieutenant Commander Data.” He spoke with a booming voice, his sharp teeth put proudly on display as he grinned at you._ _

_ _“Worf!” Riker shouted crossly, Deanna recoiling in shock as Geordi bellowed with laughter, Worf suddenly not so intimidating as he raced to explain himself, embarrassedly scrambling for the right words._ _

_ _You joined in with Geordi’s loud laughs, and everyone knew then that you’d fit right in. The chips were handed out, and everyone replicated their favorite drinks. Data ordered the same Vulcan wine as you did, even though he did not drink it. He simply enjoyed seeing your two cups next to one another on the table._ _

_ _“The game is a five card stud, nothing wild. Ante up.” Data recited as if it were an age-old psalm, every colorful arm at the table moving to gather their cards and chips. _ _

_ _You had been dealt a nine of spades and a nine of clubs. You glanced up at Data with a scheming look on your face, one he raised his eyebrows at almost frightenedly. You could read his face like an open book._ _

_ _“You had better be prepared for crushing defeat, Data.” You spoke with mock confidence, sipping languidly from your wine as if you were a master at poker. In truth you had only tried your hand at it a few times and had no great winnings in the process._ _

_ _“From the statistical appearance of my hand it is in fact you who should be prepared.” He declared, not removing his eyes from his cards. He _knew_ you were trying to read him._ _

_ _“I call.” You announced, throwing two white chips down._ _

_ _“Call.” Deanna agreed, placing down the same amount._ _

_ _Riker glanced around the table, before betting two red. “I raise.”_ _

_ _The group shared a moment of teasing impressment, before Worf matched the bet with a warrior’s confidence._ _

_ _Geordi released a deep sigh, already folding his hand as he took a big swig of his synthale. “I’m out.”_ _

_ _The tension slightly rose. You could see why they liked poker so much._ _

_ _The game continued like this until only you, Data and Riker were left, Worf backing out with a grumpy growl as the bet raised all the way to three greens. The jilted table was silently rooting for you, all of them tired of the game always falling to either the first or second officer. _ _

_ _You stared at your hand and the flop, a queen of clovers, a nine of hearts and a jack of diamonds. Things weren’t looking too hot for you, not that you’d let either of your competitors know._ _

_ _“Might as well pack it up now boys, I wouldn’t want you to lose any more money.” You cocked an eyebrow, eliciting laughs from Deanna and Worf. _ _

_ _“I don’t think you have anything at all, Ensign.” Riker smirked, stroking his signature beard as he leaned his elbow on the table. “You’re bluffing.”_ _

_ _You maintained your poker face as best you could, matching his testy stare. “We’ll just have to see.”_ _

_ _Data examined both of you in silence._ _

_ _The final two flop cards were revealed. Two aces, one of hearts and one of diamonds. A full house for you. Not too bad, you thought as you nodded at your cards._ _

_ _“I fold.” Data announced, the rest of the table looking at him in surprise. It took him a moment to realize why everyone was staring at him before he explained his sudden action. “Whenever (Y/N) nods to herself it is because she feels confident in what she is doing. I do not believe my cards are strong enough to beat a hand she is so self-assured in.”_ _

_ _You had forgotten Data could read you as well as you could read him. _ _

_ _Now all that was left was you and Riker. You took a sip of your wine, hoping your hand wasn’t shaking. There was almost five hundred in the pot now. It would be a hell of a way to introduce yourself to the group if you won bigtime your first match._ _

_ _“I’m all in.” You said with a cockiness you didn’t feel, pushing all of your remaining chips to the center of the table. _ _

_ _The group of friends whistled, greatly impressed by your bold behavior._ _

_ _“I call.” Riker answered without a moment’s hesitation, his bright blue eyes shimmering with a fierce clarity as he shoveled in all of his chips as well._ _

_ _Your heart trembled as you realized you were in serious trouble._ _

_ _With bated breath the officers leaned in, all staring at your hand excitedly. You flipped your cards down. Full house._ _

_ _The group cheered, excited to see you hadn’t been bluffing with nothing to your hand. Your gut told you not to discount Riker just yet._ _

_ _He revealed his cards. A queen of spades and an ace of spades. Full house, just higher than yours._ _

_ _The table moaned in unison, all of them having believed for a moment you had actually beaten the great Riker. Worf looked impressed with you, Deanna and Geordi practically spilling over with happiness from the affable cheer of the moment._ _

_ _“You almost had me after Data folded.” Riker admitted, glancing between the two of you. “He had me convinced you had something unbeatable.”_ _

_ _“I did not lie, Commander, if that is what you are implying.” Data clarified, his yellow gaze almost electric beneath his billiard’s hat. _ _

_ _He had been trying to help you. You could see it now. His hand must have been subpar, so he decided to go out boosting your chances. This table must have truly been sick of Riker’s wins, you thought with an internal laugh._ _

_ _By the end of the night so were you._ _

_ _“Better luck next time, ‘cause tonight is not the night I shall be dethroned.” Riker had grinned jeeringly at you, the group frustrated beyond belief but too tired to continue fighting the Commander._ _

_ _You were well into your fourth cup of wine when the game ended and it was time for everyone to go home. You were properly buzzed, even if the alcohol had been synthetic. Data offered to walk you home as he hung up his hat._ _

_ _“Thanks for trying to help me in the first match.” You practically oozed endearment for the man, leaning your head on his shoulder as you held tightly onto the crook of his elbow, trusting him completely to lead you back home. _ _

_ _“I anticipated the group would form a greater affection for you if you managed to defeat the Commander.” His soft voice explained, your slightly delirious mind barely hearing the words and instead reveling in his cantorial tone._ _

_ _“Mhm.” You merely murmured in reply._ _

_ _He was so warm. _ _

_ _And soft. _ _

_ _And _silly_. You giggled, remembering his silly little hat. _ _

_ _He turned to you as you laughed and smiled his kind, gentle smile, looking at you in the way no one ever had before but he had always seemed to._ _

_ _You wanted to kiss him._ _

_ _ **You wanted to what?!** _ _

_ _You must have forgotten how strong Vulcan wine was to make you think of such ludicrous thoughts. Imagine kissing Data! His stiff lips pressed to yours, unsure of what to do, performing every movement by what he had read in some database, his golden eyes staring into yours, his strong arms wrapped around you as he caressed your waist, pulling you closer to his body as his breath fanned across your eyelashes… _ _

_ _“Your face has turned an unnatural shade of red. Perhaps we should stop by the Med Bay before your quarters.” He commented with concern, his eyes caring and pretty. _ _

_ _Your face flushed even harder, struggling to catch your breath as you let go of Data’s arm, as if removing yourself from him would remove the thoughts as well. “N-No I’ll be okay.”_ _

_ _Thankfully you arrived at your room before you combusted on the spot. Your doors slid open at your combadge’s signature, inviting you into sanctuary._ _

_ _“Goodnight, Data.” You whispered breathlessly. “See you tomorrow.”_ _

_ _“Goodnight, and have sweet dreams.” He gave a slight bow, before turning and walking away, your heated behavior completely unnoticed by him._ _

_ _You allowed the doors to close, leaning your back against them as you released a disbelieving laugh, running a hand through your hair._ _

_ _When had Data become so handsome?_ _

_ _With his bright, inquisitive eyes, his perfectly chiseled jaw, his darkly arched eyebrows which perfectly highlighted his marble face, his cupid bow lips which looked softer than a cloud…_ _

_ _You felt like you were dancing in the sky, swaddled by the warmth of the winds and the colors of the sun. Once you reawoke in the morning all of these foolish notions would have disappeared, and all the consequences which came with them._ _

_ _You rubbed your face, demanding your heart be still as you checked your computer for any new messages._ _

_ _One small ping stated you in the face. _ _

_ _It was from Captain Picard._ _

_ _The warm fuzziness of the night and the synthale quickly wore off as you read the contents of the letter._ _

_ _ _Report for mission briefing at 0800 hours tomorrow in the observatory. Your skill in dealing with the Romulans have impressed me. Congratulations on receiving your first mission._ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I watched the “Generations” movie and let me just say.... Data’s life forms song has been playing on repeat in my head ever since.


	11. First Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello...... I'm so sorry for my absence! My life has been way too busy for any real writing lately, but be assured this fic is nowhere near abandoned! I am changing my updates to every other Monday for now, I am not the best at maintaining a proper schedule though, so apologies for that. 
> 
> I hope you all are still tuned in and happy with the new chapter. Love you guys, thank you for being patient with me and always writing the loveliest comments! <3
> 
> Now reader, engage! ;)

“Data, it’s a simple mission, nothing to worry yourself over.” You murmured quietly, matching the low volume of Ten Forward as you bit into your muffin. 

“I am incapable of feeling worry.” Data pointed out, his voice following in suit of your own.

“Then why are you _hovering_?” You asked with a short chuckle, causing a disdainfully offended look to flash across his face.

“I am simply ensuring you do not miss any protocol steps in preparing for a ground mission on an uninhabited planet. It is a great risk to spend three days alone with no access to communication or transport.” He said as you casually took another bite, turning to him with a playful smirk.

“Well I’ve got my phaser, what else do I need?”

“Food and water provisions, a tricorder-“ He began, before you hastily cut him off. 

“Data it was a joke.”

He frowned in frustration, shifting in his seat before he spoke. “I still have not fully grasped the concept of humor.”

“I know, I’m sorry. Humor helps with the nervousness.” You admitted as you took a warm sip of your coffee. 

“What reason do you have to be nervous?” He asked, quiet and concerned.

“Well, I’ve proven myself. Now I have to keep up that expectation.” You murmured, determination burning brightly even through your tired eyes.

“Encoding a computer system should prove no challenge for you.” He nodded, confident in your abilities.

“Thanks, Data.” You smiled, flattered by the way he spoke of you. There wasn’t a shred of doubt in his mind. To him, you were perfect.

“Congratulations on being chosen for a ground mission. I know it is something you have wished for.” Data praised, his eyes lighting up in such a manner you could almost mistake it for pride.

You glanced at the clock above the bar. Ten hundred hours. It was time to go.

Data began standing before you did, his internal chronometer alerting him to the shift in time. You smiled at him fondly as you prepared to leave, tightening your pack around your shoulders. He returned the look as you patted his arm, stock still in that awkward, perfect posturally way of his.

“I will notice your absence frequently in the coming week.” He stated, emotionless and mechanical in his speech and manner. Before your time on the _Enterprise_ you would have considered his way of speaking unnatural and painfully uncomfortable. Now you could only see it for the sweet kindness it had always been.

“I’ll miss you too, you big lug.” You laughed, wrapping your arms around his neck as you pulled him into a tight hug. 

He looked confused, opening his mouth-

“Ask Geordi about it.” You grinned as you let him go.

You waved goodbye, Data waving back in a wild, uncontrolled flap of his entire arm as he grinned almost manically at you. He caused you one final laugh before the turbolift’s doors closed, your vision now filled with the unassuming grey of Starfleet interior design.

The smile slowly melted off your face. You could already feel the worry gnaw at your stomach, images of a Data standing lost and alone in Ten Forward rushing into your mind’s eye. For five months you had been by his side almost constantly, always knowing he was only a few decks away no matter what happened. 

You hadn’t realized how much you had come to rely on him in only a few short months. 

You ignored the slightly childish desire to turn back, excitement now pulsing into your soul as the lift opened, the transporter only steps from you now.

“You ready, Ensign (Y/N)?” O’Brian asked cheerfully, a large grin sweeping across his face.

It reminded you of your first day aboard the _Enterprise_, taking your foremost steps into your new home, meeting your colleagues and eventual friends with nothing but pure curiosity beating through your heart.

It was exactly how you felt now, landing on an uncharted planet with no one but yourself to keep you company.

“Ready as I’ll ever be!” You responded, practically skipping onto the transporter, swinging your pack around. 

“Remember, we won’t be able to transport you again for three days. The storms of this planet are far too fierce for our transporters to beam anyone down or up.” He gave you a pointed look, pointing his finger sternly at you.

In other words, don’t get injured or you’re screwed.

“No problem.” You playfully saluted, nodding with confidence.

“Have fun.” He laughed, before pushing his fingers across his desk, silver light encasing your body as the view of the _Enterprise_ disappeared, replaced by a hot and desolate planet of sand and red rock. 

The winds were harsh and stirred up layer upon layer of dirt and dust, the grains whipping violently around you, threatening to choke and blind you. Immediately you covered your face, rushing to your escape into Starfleet’s mandated research center.

Everything you required had already been beamed down within the thirty-two minute window between storms. There were fifteen minutes left if you wanted to return home, else you’d be stuck for three days.

You looked out your window, set your shoulders back, and got to work, putting all other thoughts away.

“Why anyone thought this place would make a good colony I will never know.” You muttered to yourself, wiping sand from your face and clothes as you surveyed your temporary living space.

Two hallways, one leading to the left and one leading to the right, both leading to the same place. You had a workstation, here, and a resting station, over there. It would work just fine for your purposes.

It wasn’t until you started up the station’s computer you felt a slight shiver crawl up your neck.

So silent. 

So empty. 

The metal hull of the research center moaned against the wind, dark and cold compared to the heat outside. You knew there was no one else on the whole planet but you, yet you felt so...

Watched.

You felt a chilled feeling freeze your legs, the winds howling horribly once more, before you suddenly shook awake, scolding yourself harshly.

“Stop it! Captain Picard gave you a mission and now you’re going to finish it.” You snapped as you began your coding. “And spectacularly as well!”

It was a simple matter. The Federation was planning on creating a settlement here and needed a working computer system prepared before the colonists arrival. The Captain has put his trust in you when he assigned you this mission, and you wouldn’t let him down. 

You worked in shifts, three hours of coding, one hour of resting off and on. It was nice to work yourself so rigorously, you thought, almost therapeutic as you placed your newest book about artificial life down, happily returning to your computer.

After an hour passed you let out a cheer, stretching your arms out gleefully as you finally finished the most basic systems. Starfleet had guessed you would finish them halfway through the second day. You had done it in one.

You glanced at the time. Oh one hundred hours. One am in the morning. You could feel your eyelids slip down your face, a yawn escaping your mouth as the numbers on your screen began to blur. You should probably rest.

You slide away from your desk, shuffling to your room tiredly as you idly thought about what you might have for dinner. You were kind of craving-

Slam!

You yelped, jumping back as the entrance to your room raced to a close, almost crushing your nose between the metal doors in the process. You grabbed your chest, breathing heavily as you attempted to calm your heart. Apparently the door systems needed a double checking.

You reopened them with a quick tap of your tricorder, locking them in place as you stepped through the portal. You’d perform a diagnostic in the morning. 

Tiredly you began to fill out your order, more than ready for sleep. You’d replicate something simple, you didn’t have much of an appetite. You flipped through the system’s memory, hoping to find something which would pique your interests.

Without warning, bold letters flashed across the screen, replacing the food items with a simple message. 

**LEAVE NOW**

Your blood ran cold, terror seizing you for a moment before you threw it away, stepping back from the replicator. First the door and now a message? Your fingers itched to press against your combadge and report your findings, but it would lead to no avail. The storms outside would scramble any message you attempted to send.

You had lost your appetite entirely. You could feel eyes all around you, but there was simply no one there. You spun on your heel, desperately searching for something which did not exist.

You could do nothing but lie on your bed and attempt to fall asleep, removing your combadge and placing it on your bedside table. The icy claws of fear refused to release you, your eyes shifting back and forth between every corner of your room. You couldn’t look away from the open door, visions of some monstrous being crawling into your bed and dragging you away poisoning any rational thoughts you had.

You needed to calm down. You required sleep, even if it was the last thing you wanted to do. You sealed your eyes shut, turning away from the open door as if it were your childhood closet, filled with goblins and demons hidden in the dark. You yearned to transport back to the _Enterprise_, to fall back into your own bed, to go down into Engineering and see all your friends waiting for you there.

To see Data smiling at you again.

You felt yourself relax, a giggle bubbling in your chest as you remembered his parting words. _I will notice your absence greatly…_

A light blush painted your face as you began to drift into your dreams, warm and content as you thought of nothing but him. His amber eyes and his auburn hair, his warm touch and his soft smiles.

Sleep found you quickly, Data guiding you to it’s sweet embrace.

Far away, floating silently in the atmosphere the real Data kept a constant watch over your location, a small pip flashing quietly on his screen. He had not looked away for more than a moment since you had beamed down, studying each and every influx of information which danced across the monitor.

“Sir, there seems to be a constant influx of energy forming around Ensign (L/N)’s location.” He reported to the Captain after a moment’s observation, spinning in his chair.

“Yes, there are strange electrical patterns all over the planet, nothing unusual.” Picard responded casually, leaning his head tiredly against his palm.

“But this pattern follows her specifically.” Data insisted, eyes unblinking.

“Hm. Keep an eye on it then Mr. Data, and inform me of any changes.” The Captain nodded, standing from his chair as he straightened his uniform, a yawn pulling at his lips.

“Yes, sir.” Data responded simply, instantly returning his attention to you.

“Hold a moment.” Picard suddenly turned, his eyebrows cross. “Shifts changed almost two hours ago. What are you still doing here?”

“I have the quickest reaction time of all other Starfleet officers. If something were to go wrong during the mission I am the best suited for the task.” He explained apathetically, stiff and focused.

“In other words you don’t trust anyone else with the safety of your friend.” Picard smiled and shook his head, crossing his arms. “That’s very human of you, Mr. Data.”

The android finally reacted, turning back around in his chair as he tilted his head to the side. “I have simply compared all available information and come up with the best solution.”

“For anyone else your replacement officer would have been a good enough solution for you. Why isn’t now?” Picard could barely stifle his smirk, he really enjoyed seeing this new side of Data.

Data took a moment to think, glancing at the ground and then back up again. ”Because this task is too important to leave to others.”

“Because you are worried for her.” Picard smiled, waving his finger knowingly.

“I am incapable of feeling worry.” Data shook his head lightly, almost confusedly.

“Maybe you can’t _feel_ it, but you can certainly _behave_ like you are.” Picard perfectly explicated his philosophy, providing his third-in-command a pointed look.

“So because I have applied personal importance to Ensign (F/N)’s safety, and in response am keeping her under my surveillance, I am behaving like I am worried?” Data calmly attempted to understand.

“Extremely.”

Data shook his head, turning his back to his Captain. “I do not think it is the same.” 

Picard only chuckled heartily, thoroughly amused as he sauntered into his ready room. “In your own way, I think it really is.”

Data’s eyes returned to your lifesigns, flashing steadily on his screen, safe and sound. A small but proud smile pulled at his lips as he did, content to watch you for as long as it took. As long as it took until you came home.

When you awoke the next morning you did not wish to leave your bed. Only the growl of your stomach was strong enough to pull you from the safety of your sheets, your fingers quickly tapping out your breakfast order as your feet danced to return to your false cot of security.

**WE TOLD YOU TO LEAVE**

You gasped as the words filled the screen once more, the presence of another lifeform now undeniable. You sprinted to the other room, checking for any indications of life from your tricorder. Nothing showed on the display except the same electrical interference which plagued the entire planet.

The door to your room slammed shut, locking your combadge away behind it.

You cursed, slamming your fist against your newborn computer system in a mixture of fear and frustration. All you wanted to do was go back to the _Enterprise_, forgot all about these invisible monsters and threatening messages.

**IT IS TOO LATE FOR YOU NOW**

The words danced across your computer’s monitor, bold and declarative. You took a shaky breath, before marching to the keypad and returning the favor.

**IF YOU HARM ME YOU WILL REGRET IT**

The message was much more confident than you felt. You could only rely upon Starfleet regulation and hope you made it out alive.

**WE WILL TEACH YOUR KIND A LESSON**

You scowled, attempting to destroy your program altogether. You’d rather wait in silence than read any more of their aggressive nonsense.

**WE LIVE EVERYWHERE AND IN EVERYTHING **

You couldn’t help the adrenaline building in your veins.

**YOUR TECHNOLOGY MEANS NOTHING TO US**

The lights cut in demonstration, abandoning you alone in the dark, hands searching blindly for the monitor. The room relit itself, the computer coming online once more as you typed out your response.

**MY PEOPLE ARE COMING FOR ME TOMORROW**

**YOU WILL BE DEAD BY THEN**

You can barely stand now, terror suffocating your very soul. There was no escape. Nothing to do but lie down and die. You switched tactics, perhaps persuasion would work better than threats.

**WE WILL NOT STAY ON A PLANET INHABITED BY LIFE**

There was a pause, a moment of tense silence as the being seemingly studied your message. You swallowed, praying they would leave you in peace.

**THERE MUST BE A MESSAGE DO NOT CONTACT US AGAIN**

You huffed hotly, your fingers dancing across the screen as a musician might a piano, typing code after code, attempting to regain control of your system. The invisible beings had corrupted the files, essentially leaving nothing behind but a light switch with their fingers on the lever. 

You kicked the wall, pacing the floor like a caged tiger. You needed a way _out_. 

You spent the rest of the day trying to send signals to the _Enterprise_, knowing each message was a waste of time, lost in the planet’s atmosphere. A panic began to build with each second that passed, your stomach beginning to growl.

You shouldn’t have skipped lunch yesterday.

You grabbed your phaser, glaring at the sealed doors as you desperately pulled the trigger. The tool was useless, no beam appearing no matter how many times you pushed the button. You slammed the button with your palm frantically, before letting out a despaired scream, collapsing to the ground. 

Tears fell from your eyes unwillingly as you curled pitifully on the cold tile. You had no bed to sleep in, no food to eat and no water to drink. The last drop you'd had was over thirty-six hours ago. You could feel yourself reaching your limit and it was terrifying. 

“_Enterprise_? Captain?” You hopelessly asked your dark room, pausing before you spoke again, a sob stuck in your throat. “Data? Can you hear me?”

You did not sleep, uncomfortable and paranoid of the creature’s attack. The storm would wane today, you would have found hope from that thought, but for the fact your combadge was still by your bedside. Even without the storm it was difficult for transports to focus on anything but your badge signal. If you couldn’t get to it they might not be able to beam you back up. You might die in that room, thirsty and afraid.

Slowly, your hands placed themselves against the floor, pushing you upward, arms shaking and weak. You could feel your skin was stretched and thin, your body barely able to take a step forward as you shuffled to the computer console.

You placed your fingers on the keypad, a fierce shock sparking up your arm as you yelped in pain, barely able to jump away. You blew on your hands, sharp burns marring the flesh there. There was a creature trying to stop you from using the computer. 

You took a weary glance around the room, before whispering, “Screw ‘em.”

Uncaring of the pain you threw yourself against the keypad, fighting against the electric beings through sheer will alone. Your hands burnt to crisps and your nerves lost all feeling, but the pain was well worth it as the door to your bedroom finally slid open. You cut off all power as they did, hobbling as fast as you could across the threshold before the creatures could reclose the doors.

You could see your combadge, you could hear O’Brian’s voice! The storm had stopped, you could go home-

The system rebooted and the doors slammed shut on your leg, a horrific crack echoing through the room as you fell onto your arms, screaming in pain as your caught leg hung behind you in the air. The shin was completely shattered, limp and unmoving.

“Ensign (L/N), are you there?” You could hear the Chief ask.

Gritting your teeth you pulled yourself forward, desperately clawing at the floor. It was tortuous to scrape your broken leg against the still closing metal doors, the pressure unbearable. With a final cry of agony your foot fell out, the doors whisking to a close with a hiss. Your breath was short and raspy, your stomach dragging against the ground as you pulled yourself to your bedside table. 

If the storm had stopped minutes later you knew you would have died. If you didn’t answer your combadge the _Enterprise_ would have assumed as much and waited for Starfleet orders about what to do with the unexpectedly dangerous settlement.

Your small badge fit in your palm, and almost cried as you called out, “I’m here, Mr. O’Brian I’m here!”

The light of the transporters shone around your body, safe and comforting, and all went black, the pain finally stopping.

“Captain there is something attempting to pull her back.” Data noted calmly, your energy signal becoming scrambled amongst the planet’s electricity.

“What do you mean something? Carsen-4 is completely empty.” Picard asked, focused and alert at once.

“I’m losing her signal!” O’Brian called over the comm, an almost panic in his voice.

The Bridge stared at each other in silence, all eyes turning to Data who never once turned from his desk, his vision sealed to you alone. You wouldn’t die on your first mission, he wouldn’t let you.

“I’ve got her! She’s pulling through!” The Chief reported after a moment, a relieved chuckle following the end of his transmission.

The senior officers audibly sighed, smiling in relief at not having lost an officer. You had become an essential member to the starship, friends to most and helpful to all. It would have been a great loss to lose you.

“Well done, Mr. O’Brian.” Picard grinned, sharing in the mirth of his crew. “How are you feeling Ensign (L/N)?”

No response came, silence settling between the officers like a heavy weight of sudden realization.

“I need a medical team to Transporter three STAT.” O’Brian’s shaky voice suddenly dropped, shattering the brief moment of respite to pieces.

Data quickly twisted in his chair, eyes meeting with Picard’s in silence plea.

_I have to see her._

“Go.” The Captain said simply, motioning his head toward the turbolift.

Data needed no further persuasion, shooting out of his chair as his long legs carried him swiftly to you. 

_What had he missed? He had watched you every moment of every day. The energy aura would be the only valid available explanation. There must be life that exists not in the form of matter, but instead electricity. But why would they attempt to kill you?_

His mind raced, flooding him with thought upon thought of nothing but you as the elevator shot downward.

_Were you dead? Would your input be lost to him forever as Tasha Yar’s had?_

Those thoughts did not help his analysis, and were promptly ignored.

The doors opened and he raced to Medbay, practically jogging down the hallway as his programming’s sole driving force became to see if you were alright. Every byte in his body demanded your presence, as if he had lost control of himself, which he knew to be impossible. He held many prime directives within his positronic net, one of which was to protect his friends. You had simply taken the ultimate priority in this particular moment of his quickly working network of thought.

Medbay was a panicked storm of nurses, Dr. Crusher shouting commands, her eyes focused and her hands quick. Data stood lamely amongst them, a Trill nurse bumping into him as she raced to the Doctor’s side, glaring at him something fierce.

“Data, we don’t need you here!” Crusher called from your bedside, her words clearly meant to be final.

He finally saw you for the first time in three days, face sunken in, tubes in your mouth, foot twisted unnaturally, and his circuits freezed on one question. 

“Is she dying?” He asked coldy, softly as if it did not matter.

“Out. Now.” She pushed him away, thankful he was allowing her to move him as she shut the door after him, returning to her work before she could be further distracted.

Data stood in the hallway, staring at the sealed door, knowing you were just on the other side, and a confused look spread across his face.

He could see other officers strutting past him, determined to complete their tasks, professional and stern. Some of the faces were familiar, some of them completely new. None of them gave him the same feeling of rightness, of correctness, as yours always had. They were not you, and that was _wrong_. 

You were nowhere to be found. He was once more lost amongst humans. He had not realized it until just then, but somewhere along the way you had completed him. You had made him feel human even in unhuman form. You had made him feel like he belonged. 

And now you could be gone forever, leaving him behind with the wrong faces and his cold android heart.

His days had been filled with your face, your unique information, your reactions, your assistance. He had become so accustomed to you even now his brain anticipated for you to be in Engineering, waiting patiently for him to come down and begin your research.

He had not expected how much you would be missing from his life.

“You can come in now. She’s still sleeping, but the sedative should wear off soon.” Crusher whispered to him, gently gripping his arm. She looked tired, but a glimmer of pride and relief danced behind her eyes, outshining any darkness which had taken over the crew.

He had stood outside Medbay for three hours. Beverly felt her heart swell at the realization, having always been a romantic at heart.

“Thank you, Doctor. I apologize for not leaving when asked before.” Data murmured, stepping into the dimly lit room. There was no sound save for your deep breaths, something he found an instant slowing of his systems upon hearing.

You were alive, he did not need to be so on edge and at his prime efficiency. His body found relief, temperature regulation and circulation returning as he transferred control from his higher cognitive function back to his required subroutines. A few more hours of that and he might have burned out.

“It’s okay, Data. You were worried about your friend.” Crusher smiled warmly, watching him approach her patient with careful steps, as if the vibrations of his weight against the floorboards might be enough to break your fragile form.

He did not bother to disagree, simply drawing to your side.

He looked at you, studying your features, noting what was inconsistent with your regular appearance, guessing how it had happened. Breathing was good, breathing was correct.

Slowly, your eyes lifted, dilating at the sudden invasion of light. 

“(F/N)?” Data whispered, bending down closer to you. “Can you hear me?”

You turned achingly slow, eyes barely focused but a smile still spreading across your face as you recognized who had greeted you. “Data.”

“Are you alright?” He asked, cataloging the look in your eyes for later study.

“Do I look alright?” You retorted, voice barely louder than a croak.

“You look as if you are nearing death.” Data observed, his honeyed eyes moving carefully down your form, noting each and every injury.

“Well there you go.” You smiled, eyes drooping.

“Why were you not eating or drinking?” He asked bluntly, as if he wanted you to explain the problem again and not remember how you had almost died.

“Data, let her rest.” Beverly interrupted, giving you some kind of drug which relaxed your muscles, the hypospray giving a slight hiss.

“It’s alright, Doctor. Our _android_ is being worried.” You teased, a grin splitting your face.

“I am puzzled as to why everyone believes I am capable of an emotion I am not.” Data asked, deep confusion etching his face in such a way it was almost child-like.

“I was just teasing.” You tiredly pat his arm, eyes slipping closed unwillingly.

_This is correct. This is familiar._

“It is good to see you are alive.” Data stated the obvious without realizing it to be such.

“It’s good to be alive. I’ve had quite the adventure.” You noted with amusement, a warm feeling wrapping around your heart like a blanket as Data’s sweet innocence revealed itself once more.

“You should rest for now. I will be present for your mission briefing at a later date.” He declared, giving you a slight bow. He’d be back to check on you later. His checklist on your wellbeing had been fulfilled and he was now ready to resume work.

“Okay.” You whispered tiredly. “You behave while I’m sleeping.”

“I function within the same parameters, whether you are awake or not. It is in my programming.” He explained kindly.

You laughed loudly at his obliviousness, happier than you had been for days. “Good night, Data.”

“Good night, (F/N).” He replied softly, a smile which was all his own painted across his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Data: I can not experience emotion. :|  
Everyone: Ya'll hear sum'n?  
Data: :|


End file.
